


Rule the World

by FireflyySkyy



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Found Family, GTA AU, Gang AU, Gang Violence, Hurt/Comfort, OT8, Violence, Weapons, but more like a criminal au, mafia, mentions of past abuse/torture, very much inspired by FAHC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2020-12-23 15:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21083408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflyySkyy/pseuds/FireflyySkyy
Summary: Ever heard of Stray Kids? Everyone in Seoul has. They’re the most wanted gang in the country.No one knows their real names. The police can’t find them. They’re famous ghosts.The $10,000,000 Bank of Korea heist? Stray Kids.The destruction of City Jungle’s 50 story headquarters? Stray Kids.The Diamond Heist of the Century? Stray Kids.Other crews both respect and fear these criminal masterminds. But who are they? And what’s their story?





	1. Blue Smoke, Spray Paint, and a Will

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! I'll be going through and updating this fic to be OT8
> 
> I know its been a while... I will hopefully start writing for this fic again! I will be editing all of the chapters today or tomorrow - and I'll hopefully post a new chapter then as well :-)
> 
> Sorry for the hiatus... it was not intentional
> 
> I hope you can still enjoy! Thank you for reading.

The night that Park ‘JYP’ Jinyoung died, the officers of Seoul rejoiced. They took to the bars; toasts were made to his death. Stories of his crimes circled the precincts as kind and corrupt officers alike boasted of their involvement in his death. 

Their celebrations were short lived however, when a young officer brought up whether his death was truly something to toast to. Brushed off by the older officers at first, he questioned again why they were celebrating. Sure, the crime lord was off the streets, but that only meant that his followers would be fighting for his spot. For his throne. Surely, he said, the city was in graver peril than ever before?  
  
Elsewhere in Seoul, eight figures stood around a circular table. Large windows on the wall overlooking the city lights. The sun was setting, dark clouds looming beyond the horizon.  
  
“We all know what this means.” A woman said, her lips red.  
  
“Indeed,” Replied the man across the table from her, “You’ve all received your parts of his will?”  
  
Curt nods and crossed arms, a silent, unanimous ‘yes.’  
  
“Then the fight begins,” The tallest said, his foreign accent nearly unnoticeable. “The fight for Seoul.”  
  
The two girls behind their leader exchange looks.  
  
The red lipped girl spoke again, “This is goodbye then. The next time I see any of you, I’ll put a bullet between your eyes.”  
  
Heavy silence followed her and the two other girls out of the room.  
  
The tall man and the duo across the table took their leave as well as well, both parties wary ‘til their last step.  
  
Which left just one. He looked at his phone and opened the attachment on the email he received from the estate attorney.  
  
Article 2  
  
  
_Specific Bequests and Devises_  
  
_I, Park Jinyoung give the sum of Twenty Billion Won ($20,000,000,000) to a separate trust which shall provide for the perpetual care and maintenance of the property referred to as “JYP Estate” (See Item B) This trust shall be executed by Seo Yoojeong until the time of her death._  
  
_I give the sum of Ten Billion Won ($10,000,000,000) to a separate account to be entrusted to Im Jaebum. As well, I give the estate known as Penthouse 501-20, located in Jongno-gu, Seoul to Im Jaebum until the time of his death._  
  
_I give the sum of Ten Billion Won ($10,000,000,000) to a separate account to be entrusted to Kang Brian Younghyun. As well, I give the estate known as Penthouse 2431-546, located in Songpa-gu, Seoul to Kang Brian Younghyun until the time of his death._  
  
_I give the sum of Ten Billion Won ($10,000,000,000) to a separate account to be entrusted to Park Jihyo. As well, I give the estate known as Penthouse 103-240, located in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul to Park Jihyo until the time of her death._  
  
_I give the sum of Ten Billion Won ($10,000,000,000) to a separate account to be entrusted to Bang Christopher Chan. As well, I give the estate known as Penthouse 5300-01, located in Gangam-gu, Seoul to Bang Christopher Chan until the time of his death._  
  
A clear division of resources and territories. The war for the throne had begun.  
  
Chan sighed, “Rich bastard.” He muttered as he turned off his phone. Then, after a moment’s pause, he opened it once more and clicked the call button. The screen was cold against his skin as he pressed it to his ear. It rang once, twice, then-  
  
“Yo!”  
  
“Han, it’s me.” Chan said.  
  
“So says your contact name.” Jisung replied.  
  
Chan rolled his eyes. “The others have all left.” He says, “He’s really dead, this is really happening.”  
  
For a moment, Chan listens to Jisung breathe on the other end of the line, then he clears his throat.  
  
“Alright well, you know I’m with you. Always.”  
  
Chan nods to himself, “Good, I mean, good.” He exhaled. “I need to get together a crew.”  
  
He began to walk, leaving the conference room and stepping into the leftmost elevator. He pressed the button for the garage. The elevator began its long descent.  
  
“Shit man,” Jisung said, “You’re really gonna try and come out on top…?” He trailed off.  
  
“I am.” Chan said. “And I can do it, with the right people.”  
  
“The right people, huh?” Jisung wondered aloud in the other end of the line.  
  
Chan watched the numbers signifying the floors on the elevator wall drop. “Meet me in Gangnam.” He said, “Let’s get dinner.”  
  
“It’s like 3am,” Jisung whined. “And you can’t just say ‘meet me in Gangnam,’ Gangnam is huge- “  
  
The phone disconnected as the elevator dinged. Chan walked into the garage, stowing his phone away in his pocket. Jisung would be pissed, but he’d deal.  
  
“Hey, Bang Chan!” A voice called.  
  
Chan turned, the tall man from earlier, Brian, walked out of the other elevator. He was the only one who’d attended the meeting alone, Jihyo had brought Jeongyeon and Nayeon, and Jaebum had brought Jinyoung.  
  
“Young K.” Chan replied, using his ‘street’ name.  
  
“Oh don’t be like that!” Brian laughed as he neared Chan, arms outstretched for a hug, “What’s wrong with wishing an old friend luck- “  
  
Quick as a whip, Chan’s hand shot out grabbing Brian’s wrist. The knife clattered to the garage floor.  
  
Brian smirked, relaxing his hand and bringing his arms up, palms facing Chan. “Alright, alright, you caught me. But can you blame me? None of us thought little Christopher would be in the running for King.” His demeanour changed, his eyes became hooded, his smirk more sinister. “I won’t kill you yet, not when we haven’t even experienced the thrill of the race!”  
  
Chan furrowed his eyebrows, “Isn’t the saying ‘the thrill of the chase’? And it’s an English phrase isn’t it? I don’t think it translates into Korean.”  
  
Brian frowned. “Ah shit,” His demeanour relaxed once again. “Well, you at least got what I meant yeah?”  
  
Chan rolled his eyes, smiling, “Yeah, yeah, you’re gonna kill me, yadda, yadda, I got the jist.”  
  
Brian grinned. “Excellent! Well I’ll see you around Chris!” He gave Chan a hearty slap on the back. As he walked, he kicked the knife off the ground where it still lay and caught it in his hand. He turned his head and winked at Chan. Chan watched the older get in his blue sports car, the driver looked familiar he thought, Sungjin maybe? Perhaps Brian hadn’t been as alone as he’d thought he was.  
  
Only once he’d seen them speed out of the garage did Chan turn his back. He clicked the remote control in his pocket.  
  
Chan smirked as his baby lit up.  
  
The sleek, black Bugatti chirped as he unlocked it. He slid behind the driver’s seat and rolled out of the parking garage. The engine purred as he peeled out onto the empty street. His stomach growled.  
  
As soon as his phone reconnected to service, a call from Jisung came ringing across the Bluetooth system in his car. He answered it.  
  
“You are such an asshole! Hanging up on me- I’m gonna kick your ass!” Jisung shrieked immediately. He continued to make various squawking noises over the sound of Chan’s laughter all the way to Gangnam.  
  
Lucky for Chan, JYP Estate was near where he was meeting Jisung.  
  
Chan drove through the streets, racing past the speed limit as he ran a red light. A car behind him honked. Jisung laughed at him over the phone, to which Chan responded with some insult based upon Jisung’s squirrel-like features. The exchange quickly devolved into another teasing argument that lasted until Chan pulled up in front of a seedy barbeque place in between an empty storefront with a FOR LEASE sign in the window and a convenience store.  
  
He hung up on Jisung once again, and was greeted with the boy’s sour face as soon as he exited the car.  
  
“Gangnam is too big eh?” Chan teased, nudging the other with his shoulder.  
  
“It’s not like we eat anywhere else anyways.” Jisung pouted, following Chan into the restaurant.  
  
The place was empty, save for the greasy old man who came out from the kitchen to greet them when the door chimed, his teeth yellow, and his beard long and thin.  
  
They grabbed their usual table in the back, and quickly ordered their food. Chan waited for the old man to close the door to the kitchen behind him before he spoke.  
  
“Alright.”  
  
Jisung looked up from the puddle of water on the table he was drawing with his finger in. “Alright?”  
  
Chan nodded. “JYP is dead.”  
  
“Yeah no shit.”  
  
“And someone’s gotta take his place.”  
  
Jisung looked at Chan for a moment, staring at his face. After a moment he nodded as if he’d seen what he was looking for. His expression had turned serious. “You want it to be you.”  
  
“To be us.” Chan corrected. “You and me and whoever else joins our crew. Soon enough word will have gotten out that JYP divided the territories and that the four of us are recruiting. People will want in.”  
  
Jisung nodded thoughtfully. “Im and Park have pretty much put together their crew already haven’t they? They’ve been recruiting for years.”  
  
Chan nodded, “Yeah they have a couple of foreigners. Weapons specialists and shit. I’ve worked with them a few times, they’re good.”  
  
“They’re loyal to Im and Park though?” Jisung questioned.  
  
Chan nodded. “Same with the girls, they’ve got some specialists from Japan that they’ve been training for a while now. I’m sure they’ll ask them to join.”  
  
“And Brian will ask Jae for sure, since they’re both from America.”  
  
“Brian’s from Canada,” Chan corrected, “But yeah, Jae’s with him for sure. Sungjin too, I saw them together earlier.”  
  
“Which leaves you with who?” Jisung asked.  
  
“You.” Chan said.  
  
“… Well shit.”  
  
The two laughed, only interrupted by the old man walking out of the kitchen with their meat and side dishes. Chan immediately began lining the grill, slapping away Jisung’s grabby hands.  
  
For the rest of the meal they kept their conversation casual, never knowing who could be listening in. Chan footed the bill, and the two began to make their way out of the building when a hand grabbed Chan’s shoulder. The man’s nails were long, and pinched Chan’s skin.  
  
“You’ll be wanting to let go now.” Jisung said dangerously, moving in between Chan and the old man from earlier. “If you want to keep your hand.” His eyes were dark, his hand already on his gun.  
  
The man let go easily, “Sorry, sorry boys. Didn’ mean to hurt you.” He looked back up at the duo, “I only wanted to know if my restaurant lies in your territory now?” His beady eyes bore into Chan’s.  
  
Chan nodded, “It does, and loyalty to me and my crew is important to me.” He took a step towards the man, passing Jisung. “I trust you’ll keep whatever you hear out of the ears of those who don’t need to be hearing it?”  
  
The man looked between Chan and Jisung, before nodding and smiling toothily.  
  
“Of course, your business is most appreciated here. You are our most loyal customers.” He sidled back into the kitchen, leaving Chan and Jisung alone in the restaurant.  
  
“As if he didn’t already know this is our territory, what a creep!” Jisung scowled. “He just wanted to see if you had the balls to confront him, I don’t trust him one bit.”  
  
Chan huffed out a laugh, “He’ll be loyal as long as he wants our business. We’re the only ones keeping this place afloat.”  
  
“Besides,” Chan continued as the door swung closed behind them, the cold night air filling his lungs. “Even if he betrays us, no other crew will eat here if the walls have our names written all over them.”  
  
Jisung’s eyes brightened, “Oh hell yeah!” He ran up to Chan’s side. “What colours did you bring?”  
  
Chan clicked a button on his car keys and the trunk swung open smoothly. Inside, a black duffel bag sat innocently. Jisung immediately unzipped the bag, pushed aside the AR-15 that lay across the top and began grabbing the paint cannisters.  
  
“I want the red!” He crowed, “Oh! And the neon blue hell yeah!”  
  
Chan smiled fondly as he too grabbed paint cannisters, black, white, and yellow. The trunk glided shut again as he and Jisung made their way around the side of the restaurant.  
  
“You decided on a crew name?” Jisung asked, “I know we’ve been throwing around some ideas for fun but- “  
  
“I’m thinking ‘Stray Kids,’” Chan interrupted, “SKZ for short”  
  
‘SKZ’ Jisung mouthed. “SKZ” He said it aloud this time, rolling the word around in his mouth. He shook the red cannister and sprayed a dot on the wall as a test, then began the letters.  
  
The S was choppy, all diagonal slashes and sharp lines. The K followed suit, and the Z trailed off almost menacingly.  
  
Chan couldn’t help but smile as Jisung began to fill in the outline with the blue. This was really happening. He’d been waiting for years, had been working the streets as long as the others and never rising to the same positions they had. He’d thought JYP had given up on him. When he got the text that JYP had died he’d been neither shocked nor surprised. When he’d gotten the text naming him as one of the candidates for the throne, he’d been both.  
  
“C’mon Chan! Don’t leave all the hard work to me!”  
  
Chan laughed, then began to paint. A large CB97 with impressive claws and scratch marks. The J.ONE that followed he turned into a shark with the help of the electric blue paint.  
  
Eventually, they were finished.  
  
Jisung turned to Chan, “So leader Chan, what do we do now?”  
  
Chan looked over at the younger and grinned cockily, “I wanna call someone, I think he’ll fit in just fine.” Chan looked back at the wall, “And he can even add his name to the mix too, make it a trio.”

-

“Take that you fuckers!”  
  
The explosion rocked the streets, he felt the heat hot against his leather jacket. He lit another charge, tossing it behind him. As the second explosion went off, he gripped the handlebars of his motorcycle, forcing the front tire into a wheelie.  
  
“Arrest me now you pigs!” He turned sharply, cackling as the cop car ran straight into a street pole.  
  
The rev of the motorcycle hid the vibrations of his phone for a moment, “Oh shit!” He swore when he realized who the ringtone belonged to. He chucked the last charge behind him, final explosion ringing in his ears as he reached into his skin-tight pocket and grabbed his phone.  
  
“Yo! Chan!” He called, swerving his bike again with one hand to avoid another cop car. He jammed down the acceleration, speeding through traffic. “I’m a bit busy at the mo- “  
  
“Changbin! Are you- “A loud car honk cut him off as Changbin switched into the oncoming lane, “Are you blowing up my city?”  
  
Changbin skidded along the shoulder, taking a left through an intersection then cutting through an alleyway. “’Your city?’ Really? From what I hear its still up for grabs.” He drove into an abandoned construction site and braked in between a pile of rubble and a stack of cement beams. He watched the police lights reflect off the windows of the parked cars, heard the sirens scream past him. “It ain’t your city yet Chan.”  
  
“Well I plan on making it mine,” Chan replied, “And I plan on making you a part of that.”  
  
That drew Changbin’s attention. “Oh yeah? Are we that close that you want me for your crew already?”  
  
Chan laughed, “You aren’t close with any of the others, and I know you dude. You’d be crazy not to want to be a part of this.”  
  
Changbin’s tongue pressed against his cheek, “Damn. I hate it when you’re right.”  
  
“I always am!” He could hear Chan’s grin from across the line.  
  
"Fuck you.” He said, Chan’s laughter on the other end echoing through the phone. “So what? We set up a meeting? Just the two of us?”  
  
“Well… and my crew…” Chan trailed off.  
  
“Your crew?” Changbin questioned, thinking about who Chan would have hired before him. His eyes widened in realization; he couldn’t hold back a cackle. “Han?” He cackled harder, “You can just say ‘Han,’ referring to him as your entire crew makes him sound way cooler than he is!”  
  
Chan laughed on the other end of the line “I mean, he’s talented as fuck don’t get me wrong, and I wouldn’t want to get into a knife fight with the guy,” Changbin continued, “But damn, the kid’s batshit crazy!”  
  
“Coming from the guy who just blew up six entire blocks of the city!” Chan teased.  
  
Changbin scoffed, “I wasn’t blowing it up for fun! I was just getting rid of some asshole cops!”  
  
“Explosively.”  
  
“Alright that’s enough out of you!” Changbin exclaimed amidst the sounds of familiar laughter. “At least my charges were small, strong, but contained. Han doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘contained!’”  
  
“Alright, alright, calm down.” Chan said, humour still evident in his voice. “You may have a point- “  
  
“I _absolutely have_ a point- “  
  
“But!” Chan cut off Changbin’s interruption, “Regardless. We should meet. You, me, and yes, Han too. He may be crazy, but I need his brains if I want to get anywhere near the top. Yours too.”  
  
Changbin nodded, he looked around the construction site to make sure the coast was clear. “BBQ place in twenty?” He suggested.  
  
"I have a better idea,” Chan said, “I’m texting you the address to the penthouse JYP left me. Meet us there this evening, its got a better view.”  
  
Changbin laughed, “Alright. I’ll see you in a bit.” He pressed END CALL and revved his motorcycle.  
  
‘I wonder how fast I can push this baby on my way there?’ He wondered to himself, fixing his motorcycle helmet back over his head and flipping the visor down. 

-

It had taken him longer than he'd like to admit to lose the cops.  
  
He'd had to give up his bike and continue his escape on foot. Not that that was the last he'd see of his baby, breaking it out of impound would be a piece of cake, but it still rankled him that he was forced to leave her behind like that.  
  
That would have been enough to piss him off.  
  
But of course the elevator in the 75 story building that Chan had sent him to was out of order. Most people would have waited the few hours to would take to be fixed. Not Changbin though, he had a meeting to get to and the consequences of being later than he already was were not something he wanted to deal with that day.  
  
Even in as good shape as Changbin was in, he was severely winded by the time he got to the top. He was grateful that he'd have time to catch his breath while seated at the meeting.  
  
Of course, it was hard to catch his breath when the whole room was filled with blue freaking smoke.  
  
“God damn it Han! Why’d you set it off in here?” He irately yelled his seat at the table.  
  
“I wanted cool effects!” Han, from what seemed to be near the window, called back. “For this legendary meeting we’re having! Its gotta be dramatic, Chan sits and takes his sunglasses off slowly, and then! Smoke rises from the ground and- “  
  
“I’m going to kill him! Where is he?” Changbin interrupted, he stood up and began moving through the smoke.  
  
“Oof!” Changbin heard Chan grunt as he ran into him on his way to strangle Han.  
  
“Why blue though?” Chan said as he passed, coughs intermingling his words. “Why not just regular smoke?”  
  
Loud silence.  
  
“I like blue-”  
  
“Got him!” Changbin yelled.  
  
Changbin tackled the gremlin, a fight that quickly turned to grappling. Chan walked over to the window above them and shoved it open. Inside, the blue smoke started to thin as it trailed lazily out the window. Chan walked past them once more as Changbin held Jisung in an arm-bar – squeezing his thighs together in warning. Jisung, clearly not wanting his arm broken, began tapping furiously on Changbin’s leg. At his seat at the table, Chan had his head in his hands.  
  
“This was a mistake.” Chan groaned.  
  
Jisung let out a strangled laugh from underneath Changbin, “Probably.”  
  
Finally letting the other go, Changbin made his way back over to the table. He waved his arms as he went, dispersing the blue smoke. He took the seat across from Chan. His scuffle with Jisung had mussed up his leather jacket, and his hair was all over the place. The three of them continued to flap their hands around to try and get rid of the last of the smoke from Han’s ‘Photorealistic smoke _effect_.’ He had been very insistent that it wasn’t a smoke bomb, though it clearly was.  
  
“Hey!” Han called from where he was still lying on the floor. “It looked cool as shit though right? I got a pack of twenty! There’s red and pink and other colours too!”  
  
Chan’s outstretched arm across Changbin’s chest was the only thing that stopped him from kicking the shit out of the blue-haired asshole.  
  
“Guys! Guys! Let’s focus okay?” Chan said. “Han, get over here!”  
  
With an exaggerated groan directed at Changbin, Han got to his feet. He took the chair to Chan’s right. He made to put his feet up on the table, but Chan’s hand quickly slapped his legs down.  
  
Hand retreating, Chan took a breath. “Alright so let’s get right down to it. With hopefully no more interruptions,” He glared at Han, who smirked back at him. Rolling his eyes, he continued. “You both know why you’re here. In the interest of being as transparent as possible I’m holding this meeting with all crew members in attendance.”  
  
Changbin could not help but snicker, pressing his lips together quickly when the eldest shot him a dirty look. After a moment Chan continued speaking, “Working under me will mean a variety of things. Firstly, loyalty is of the utmost importance.” Chan gave them both a hard look, Changbin did his best not to falter under the suddenly heavy gaze.  
  
“Changbin, your duties will revolve around your abilities and connections, but in general you will be acting as muscle. I know that you have experience in bodyguard work, interrogation, and infiltration. Han, you already know your role-”  
  
“Wildcard, baby!”  
  
“No! No. Han, you will be my second in command. I’ve known you longest and, regrettably, I trust you most with my life. Changbin, I guess you’re third in command, not that I really have a chain of command in mind… It will help in the future I suppose, when we get new members.” He paused. “Um, and yeah, do you guys have any questions?”  
  
“Benefits?” Changbin asked, smirk on his face.  
  
Chan huffed a laugh through his nose. “Yeah um, okay. If you want to live _here_ once you’ve joined up, you can. Han and I,” He gestured to himself and the youngest, “Have already moved in, but there are plenty of rooms. I’ll also pay for any medical expenses that are caused directly in the line of work.”  
  
Changbin nodded thoughtfully and reclined into his chair.  
  
He wasn’t sold though.  
  
“And what are you doing?” He asked. At the confused look on Chan’s face, he re-worded his question. “I mean, what’s your end goal here?”  
  
“I will rule Seoul.” Chan said seriously, “like JYP did.”  
  
Changbin nodded slowly. It was as he’d thought, Chan didn’t seem to have much of a goal beyond ‘becoming JYP.’ Chan didn’t talk about it much, but he knew that JYP had taken Chan in at 9 years old and practically raised him in the gang. No wonder he was trying to follow in his footsteps.  
  
Changbin forced himself to look Chan in the eyes, “Chan. I trust you, and I trust that you want to do this, but…” He strengthened his resolve, “If all you’re doing is following in someone else’s footsteps instead of paving your own road, I don’t know how far you’ll get.”  
  
Silence echoed around the room. Changbin let his words sink in for a moment, “I’m not saying I won’t join you Chan. I’m not even trying to say that wanting to rule Seoul is a bad thing. What I’m trying to say is- “  
  
“Why do I want to?” Chan interrupted.  
  
“Yeah.” He said, relieved Chan at least understood what he was asking. However, the leader had a dark look on his face.  
  
A long silence ensued. Changbin looked between Han and Chan uncomfortably, his hands tapping on the glass surface. Han was sat ramrod straight, his eyes glued to Chan’s face. His hand had disappeared under the table, and Changbin knew that the other would turn on him at the slightest motion from Chan.  
  
Changbin watched Chan carefully, not quite knowing what to expect.  
  
Eventually, the leader spoke again. “Han, can you give the two of us a minute?”  
  
Changbin gulped. He didn’t let his eyes leave Chan’s face. He watched Han rise out of the corner of his eye, though he paused for a moment to have a quick whispered conversation with Chan before he did so. Han looked at Changbin once more, before leaving the room.  
  
Soon it was just the two of them. He wasn’t sure what to expect, he was about to ask when Chan sighed loudly and began to speak.  
  
“Can you follow me?” Chan asked finally.  
Changbin was taken aback, “Um, what- “  
  
“I know your history,” Chan continued, “You’ve got issues with authority. Big. Issues. I need to know now if that’s going to be a problem in the future.”  
  
Changbin blinked. He hadn’t even considered it.  
  
“Uh, well yeah.” Changbin said. “You’re not going to love hearing this, but I don’t really view you in that way. I mean – you’re the boss I get that, but it ain’t like you’re ordering me around a making rules and shit.”  
  
“I will, though.” Chan said seriously. “I’ll have to if we get more people. There’ll need to be some sort of order.”  
  
“Dude- Boss,” He corrected at the look on Chan’s face, “You’re like two years older than me. Even if you’re in charge it won’t be the same as… the same as before.” He swallowed, blinking the memories away.  
  
Chan exhaled, then smiled. “Good, I was just worried you know? You have a ton of experience. I’d be crazy not to want you in my crew. But I can’t have someone in the crew who won’t follow orders.” He looked Changbin in the eyes. “And about what you said earlier, about me not knowing why I want to rule Seoul.” He looked out the tall window, where the last of the blue smoke still wisped around. “It wouldn’t be right with Jaebum or Jihyo or anyone else in charge.” He looked back at Changbin, his eyes blazing. “I’ll rule this city because I’m the best damn person for the job. And because it’s gonna be fun as all hell.”  
  
Changbin smiled, relieved. “Sounds good boss.”  
  
He would have to see, but this was looking to be quite the adventure.


	2. Braces, Bad Blood, and a Convenience Store

Life in the ‘Stray Kids’ penthouse was anything but dull.  
  
For starters, it was probably the most expensive place that Changbin had ever been to, and definitely the most expensive place he’d ever lived.  
  
There was a valet out front at all hours of the day who had been more careful with Changbin’s bike than he himself had ever been, multiple restaurants on the ground floor where dinner cost the same amount of money as a year of Changbin’s college tuition, and carpet lined elevators with gold buttons that had the floor numbers elegantly carved into them.  
  
The penthouse was another story entirely, Changbin still wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn’t dreaming.  
  
The button in the elevator reserved for the penthouse required a key that Chan had gotten made for each one of them, it was a small, gold key that Changbin immediately engraved his initials into and shoved into his wallet. The meeting room they’d met in earlier in the week was, bar the closets, probably the smallest room in the whole apartment. Even the bathroom across the hall from his room was bigger, with a jacuzzi bathtub, a rainfall shower, and an ornate toilet and sink. He’d taken the fanciest shits of his life in that toilet this week.  
  
Chan had his own rooms, the master with the ensuite bathroom of course. Whereas Han and Changbin had opted to share a room. Both suspected that more people would eventually move in, and neither wanted to be saddled with someone they didn’t know. At least the two of them had worked together on jobs before.  
  
‘That being said,’ Changbin thought as he eyed Han, who was reading a book on his bed across the room. ‘I don’t completely trust him.’  
  
Changbin thought back to the swell of rumours that had arose when Han had started working for JYP. A traitor to his old gang, people said that he’d sold out SM to JYP in order to get in, that he’d spilled on safe houses and drop sites and weapon caches, that it was obvious that once he got a better offer he would sell out all of them as well.  
  
‘He wouldn’t do that to Chan, right?’ He wondered, ‘not when they were so few…’ But Changbin didn’t know the older well enough to know for sure. He did know, however, that for some reason Chan trusted him with his life. In this line of work that meant something.  
  
He watched Han, who breathed evenly and read steadily with the appearance of someone who knew they were being watched. Without making eye contact with Changbin, the younger strode out of the room.  
  
Changbin sighed and looked back down to his duffel bag, pushing thoughts of trust and traitors out of his mind for now. He had more pressing matters at hand.  
  
Gyu.  
  
Changbin was a college dropout turned thug, he’d beaten people for money, beaten assholes for less. He’d stolen shit, he’d blown up city property, he’d killed people. Lots of people.  
  
And every night he came home to his one-bedroom shithole apartment, drank a lukewarm beer and went to bed. With Gyu.  
  
Gyu being his stuffed Munchlax of course.  
  
Unfortunately, Gyu wasn’t the last memory of a dead sibling, or a final gift from an absent parent, or even a birthday present from sick grandparents. No, he’d won Gyu playing ring toss at a fair with some buddies when he was in grade school and become unreasonably attached to it.  
  
Unfortunately, that meant he didn’t have a sentimental excuse as to why he slept with a stuffed Pokémon every night.  
  
He didn’t think Chan would say anything. Maybe internally, he’d think less of Changbin, but he seemed polite enough not to outwardly neg him about it.  
  
No, it was the other one he was worried about. Fucking Han.  
  
‘What are you, a baby? Baby Changbin~’ He could imagine the youngest singing. ‘I wonder what will happen if I blow it up? Will stuffing fly everywhere?’  
  
Ultimately, he couldn’t foresee a reaction that didn’t either destroy his street cred, destroy his will to live, or destroy his beloved Munchlax.  
  
“Yo!” A voice that was unmistakably Han’s shouted from the living area. Changbin quickly zipped up the duffel and slid it back under his bed. He rose from his bed quickly, looked back at his duffel warily before exiting the room. Changbin hoped the staring earlier hadn’t made things between them awkward and followed him out.  
  
The hallway with the door to their room also bore two other doors along the same wall, Han’s room and an unused guest room. There was a fourth door at the very end of the hallway as well, a room that Chan had mentioned was smaller than the rest. The hall opened into the main area, a giant marble kitchen and matching marble island took up the space right outside the hallway. Further past down a set of shallow steps was the sitting area, with long wraparound couches, a giant fireplace and the largest television that Changbin had ever seen. Large floor to ceiling windows gave way to a large patio.  
The sun was at such an angle that it blinded Changbin, so he looked back towards the living room.  
  
Both Han and Chan were seated on the couch, Chan had his laptop in his lap, a pair of headphones discarded on the large square coffee table in front of him. Han sat with his feet up, newly dyed blue hair matching the couch cushions.  
  
“Took you guys long enough!” Han moaned, his head lolling back in mock frustration. “We’ve been waiting for ages!”  
  
Changbin grabbed a banana from the kitchen counter as he walked by and whipped it at the younger, who caught it sideways between his teeth. He began to chomp away at it, hands remaining where they were across the top of the couch.  
  
Changbin looked on disgustedly, “Dude… the peel.”  
  
“’s good for you- “Han retorted through a mouthful of banana.  
  
“…And the sticker?”  
  
Han paused for a moment. “Protein!” He decided.  
  
“It's a sticker!” Changbin began to shout but was calmed by Chan’s hand on his shoulder. With a final glare at a too-happy Han, he took a seat on the couch.  
  
There was silence while they all waited for Chan to speak. When he didn’t, Han cleared his throat.  
  
“Ahem!” He coughed quietly,  
  
Chan startled, glancing around, “Oh! Didn’t see you guys!” Changbin noted that the dark circles under Chan’s eyes that he had always written off as a ‘bad night’ during missions seemed to be more permanent than he’d thought. “Um, hold on lemme- “He cut himself off, placing his laptop on the coffee table and gesturing for them all to move closer. “Here, say hi!”  
  
Bewildered, they moved to either side of Chan. On the computer screen was what seemed to be a video chat with a student of some sort.  
  
The student waved and smiled widely, his happiness was infectious, and Changbin couldn’t help but return the smile.  
  
“Who’s this?” Han questioned from beside Chan. “Long lost son? Secret magical apprentice? Oh! I know! Sugar Baby!” His suggestions were rapid fire.  
  
“Wha- What? Huh? No! This is I.N!” Chan sputtered. “He’s a tech guy!”  
  
A moment passed, then a “He looks 16,” from Han.  
  
‘I.N’ spoke. “I’m 18! I’m an adult!” When he talked, Changbin could see that he had braces, which made him look younger than he already looked.  
  
“Yeah, wrong thing to say if you’re trying to convince us that you aren’t 14.” Han squinted at the screen.  
  
“14? You said 16 before!” I.N accused.  
  
“Did I? I meant to say 12~” Han teased.  
  
I.N glared through the screen. To his left, Chan barked out a laugh, which was joined by Han’s after a moment.  
  
“So,” said Han, letting his laughter die down, “Chan’s recruiting you?”  
  
‘Ah.’ Changbin thought. ‘That makes sense.’ He turned back to look at the screen.  
  
Admittedly, lots of people got into crime young. Changbin himself had gotten involved with JYP while he was a student at Seoul University. What had started as a bouncer job to make enough money for rent had quickly turned into beating up other thugs for money. Not that Changbin had minded that much, he was good at fighting, and didn’t have enough of a conscience to give a shit.  
  
But this kid on the screen? He looked too innocent to be getting involved in something like this. Hacking into your school’s report card system was one thing, Changbin wondered-  
  
“I’m the one who hacked into the National Bank of South Korea and funneled $2,000,000 won from Senator Yang’s account into the Moon Kyunghoon Memorial Hospital’s directory two months ago.”  
  
Changbin’s jaw dropped.  
  
I.N crossed his arms proudly.  
  
It had been all over the news for weeks. An anonymous hacker, who was never caught, had stolen two million won from front-runner politician Senator Yang’s political party’s bank account and given it to a hospital in one of the lower income districts of Seoul. The theft hadn’t been discovered until weeks later, and then the debate was whether or not the hospital, which had already used the money to treat a higher number of patients pro bono, should have to return the money.  
  
Obviously, the law said it had to be returned, and Senator Yang was quite determined for it to be returned as well. But public outcry had been stifling, and Senator Yang’s campaign was ruined.  
Protestors still marched outside his office to this day, condemning the man who’d stolen money from a hospital even though it was in truth, the opposite.  
  
People had speculated whether the hacker had stolen in the interest of the hospital; people theorized that it had been a poor soul who had an ailing family member but couldn’t afford treatment. Others wondered if instead the goal had been to ruin Senator Yang’s reputation. Either way, it was indisputable that the hacker had done a spotless job.  
  
And apparently the hacker was an 18-year-old boy with braces who called himself ‘I.N.’  
  
“Holy shit.” Changbin said aloud. “Dude, you’re like, famous!”  
  
Onscreen, I.N shyly looked to the side, “Yeah… I guess so.”  
  
Chan smiled smugly; his arms crossed. “Didn’t I tell you? The kid’s awesome!”  
  
“Not disputing that he’s a badass,” Han said, “But what do you mean _‘Didn’t I tell you.’_ You didn’t tell us shit!”  
  
Chan’s smug aura quickly vanished, “What? No- I…” He paused, looking thoughtful. “Did I forget to tell you about him?” His head fell in his hands. “Nooo.” He moaned sadly.  
  
“Our genius leader!” Han crowed. Changbin couldn’t help but chuckle at Chan’s awkward slip-up.  
  
“So!” I.N’s voice drew their attention back towards the laptop in front of them. His bravado from earlier had returned, “How about it? Can I join you guys?”  
  
The trio on the couch exchanged glances. Changbin cleared his throat.  
  
“I mean, look. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve got an impressive resume. But like, I don’t know how I feel about letting someone so young into the crew.”  
  
Chan nodded. Changbin took that as encouragement to continue.  
  
“I mean,” He looked at I.N, who was masking a dejected look. “It depends. Why do you want to join so bad? Why not go to school? In fact, shouldn’t you _be_ in high school?”  
  
I.N’s eyes turned downwards. His shoulders hunched in on himself slightly.  
  
“I haven’t gone to school in three years.”  
  
A moment passed. “Why not?” Chan asked.  
  
I.N looked to the side, eyes drifting anywhere but his screen. “Um, I didn’t have time. My- uh, my mom is sick. Like, really sick. My dad ain’t around and I’ve only got younger siblings.” He’s from the country, Changbin noticed after hearing the faint accent.  
  
I.N kept talking, “But I’ve uh, I’ve always been good with programming and stuff, so I taught myself how to like, disable security measures and firewalls.” He looked at the screen. “I know I’m young, but I’ve been doing this for a long time. I could really use the money, please consider me!” He tried to bow while sitting at what was presumably a desk and banged his forehead on a pencil holder.  
  
“Ow!” He whined.  
  
Han burst out laughing, “I say we hire him!”  
  
“Han- “Chan started.  
  
“No not just because he hit his head!” Han protested. “But he’s clearly got the skills. He’s not previously affiliated with any of our competitors, and he’s not even a year younger than me!”  
  
“What?” Changbin and Chan exclaimed together. They looked at each other, Changbin continued. “How old are you?”  
  
Han blinked. “I’m almost 19.”  
  
Changbin felt his mouth hang open. Han was younger than him? He’d had no idea. He thought that Han and Chan were the same age. Looking at Chan, it was clear the leader had thought the same thing.  
  
Han laughed merrily in his seat. Chan look a bit perturbed at the revelation but seemed to let it slide. The eldest turned back to I.N. “Well, I’m still not totally sold, but I’m sure you’ll prove to be a valuable member.”  
  
Changbin took a moment to realize everyone had turned to him. “Oh, uh, yeah! He seems fine! His age…” He looked at Han. “Well. I guess, yeah I guess he’s fine.” He turned to face I.N. “I think you’ll be a great addition!”  
  
Chan smiled from where he sat. “Excellent! It’s decided then! Welcome to Stray Kids!”  
  
I.N’s eyes went from wide and disbelieving, to happy crescent moons in the blink of an eye. “Thank you so much!” He said. “When do I start? And uh- where are you guys?”  
  
Chan paused. “Seoul, of course. Are you not?”  
  
“Busan.” I.N said sheepishly. “A bit of a commute.”  
  
“Well we have lots of bedrooms here. “Chan said, as if every crime boss offered their employees bedrooms in a luxury penthouse apartment.  
  
I.N coughed. “I can’t afford the train ride.”  
  
“We’ll come pick you up!” Chan said, he smiled as an afterthought. “Look dude, you don’t have to worry, we’ll help you get started. You’re okay with moving away from your family?”  
  
I.N nodded slowly. “Yeah, I- I can transfer the money to my mom. And my younger brother’s old enough to watch the others.”  
  
Chan smiled. “We’ll see you soon then. Can you be ready in 12 hours?”  
  
I.N blinked.  
  
“Road trip!” Han yelled, fists punching the air.

-

-

_Rain pattered down on the city of Seoul. The streets were empty, no people and no cars. Those who did dare walk about in such a downpour were covered by their black umbrellas. The sky was a mix of greys, the sun was hidden from view._  
  
_The rain made a different noise when it was coming through the trees. It was louder in the city, pinging off streetlamps and panging off rooftops. Through the trees it almost sounded like wind. The leaves shuddered, too frail to bear weight._  
  
_The gravestones were the same colour as the sky. The raindrops that trailed down their fronts obscuring the names of those long dead._  
  
_A crowd of people in black were gathered; black umbrellas over their heads. The only sounds were those of raindrops coming through the trees above and the minister’s low toned eulogy. The crowd stood silent, hand over hand. Twin graves stood empty at the front, their caskets sitting feet away._  
  
_A lone figure enters the graveyard. He is eleven years old, and he is drunk out of his mind. His ill-fitting suit belonged to his cousin and is soaked by the rain. His hair that hasn’t been cut in a while is pressed to his head and in front of his eyes like a helmet._  
  
_He staggers, the brown paper bag with a half empty bottle of liquor inside is damp with rain. His shoes are filthy, the mud clings to the bottom of his pants._  
  
_He stops before he reaches the crowd. After a moment, a young man no older than 20 breaks away from the crowd to stand next to the boy. The boy takes a long swig, makes a face at the taste. The man does nothing, the man was even younger when he had his first drink._  
  
_“You’re late you know.” The man says to the boy. “To your own parents funeral.”_  
  
_“Fuck you.” The boy’s words are near-indecipherable, he slurs the ‘f’ in fuck for a near two seconds. “Don’t wan’ your words… “he trails off unintelligibly._  
  
_The man’s lips purse. He finally looks down at the boy. “Have you cried yet?”_  
  
_The boy pauses, then shakes his head slowly, his eyes staring forward._  
  
_The man follows his eyes to the trees, where the caskets are being lowered into their graves. “I didn’t either.” He says. “When my mother died. Not that I didn’t love her but, I didn’t cry. It’s not in our profession.”_  
  
_The boy pauses for a while before eventually nodding. “Byungchul-ssi- “But no words follow. The boy is eleven years old and drunk, and he watches his parents’ graves be lowered into the ground._  
  
_“Give your grandparents my regards kid.” Byungchul says as he walks back to the crowd. His umbrella keeping his suit perfectly dry and stiff as he becomes one with the crowd of black once again._  
  
_The boy sniffs, then uses the paper bag in his hand to wipe his runny nose. He drinks the rest of the liquor, only a few mouthfuls, and lets the bag and bottle fall to the ground._  
  
“Han! We’re back dude. Wake up!”  
  
Jisung groaned at the sudden increase in volume, but obediently opened his eyes and sat up from where his head had been resting against the window.  
  
The sun had barely risen, it was a cloudy, windy day – not another soul around as they rolled into the garage underneath Chan’s apartment complex.  
  
The trip to pick up Jeongin had sadly been quite boring. Changbin was the only one of them who had a legal driver’s license, and Chan had said that he had other business to attend to. Which left Jisung alone with Changbin for four hours.  
  
He’d thought it would be awkward after the weird staring earlier, but Changbin was easier to get along with than he’d expected.  
  
His mind turned to their new recruit who was seated in the back seat. The teenager didn’t give off the same vibes that Changbin, Chan, and even himself gave off – he didn’t immediately scream ‘gang.’ He’d worn a plain shirt and jeans with no holes in them, he’d had no piercings or tattoos, and when he smiled you could see that he still had all of his teeth.  
  
Jisung still wasn’t sure of him yet, it tended to take him a while to trust others these days, but he could see the younger fitting in to their little team nicely.  
  
“Have you been getting enough sleep?” Changbin asked as they exited the elevator with their new recruit, walking into the garage.  
  
“Mm-hm.” Jisung replied, still blinking the remainders of sleep out of his eyes.  
  
From his left, Jisung could feel Jeongin stiffly muffle a cough, then quietly excuse himself when he caught Jisung and Changbin look back at him.  
  
Jeongin was both exactly what Jisung expected and not at all what he expected. He was taller than him, for one, which Jisung hated and knew that Changbin hated even more. He also seemed older in person, though perhaps that was because he’d barely spoken more than a sentence since they’d picked him up from his home.  
  
“Here.” Jisung watched Changbin hand the younger a similar key to the one Chan had given the rest of them as they exited the car and walked over to the garage elevator. “This is your key to the apartment, don’t lose it, ‘kay?”  
  
“Or we’ll have to kill you!” Jisung sing-songed. At the slightly petrified look Jeongin gave him, he winced. “Too soon? You’ll get used to my jokes eventually.” The elevator pinged.  
  
“Never assume Han is joking when he says stuff like that…” Jisung heard Changbin mutter to Jeongin as he exited the elevator. He smirked to himself, glad to know his reputation still preceded him.  
  
“Chan!” Jisung called, “We’re home!” He rounded the corner into the kitchen, grabbing an unopened can of red bull from the counter. “We brought you a gift!”  
  
“Yeah well, I’ve got one too.” Jisung heard Chan’s voice come from the living room. “Though I’m not sure you’re going to love it.”  
  
“Huh?” Jisung looked over to where Chan’s voice was coming.  
  
Standing in the living room was Chan, who seemed to be continuing his ‘I haven’t slept in a year’ look. He was running his fingers through his short hair anxiously, to his side stood a second person.  
  
The person turned and Jisung felt his blood run cold.  
  
A second person whose name was Hwang Hyunjin.  
  
He ran and ducked down behind the island counter immediately,  
  
He quickly reached into his inner harness, grabbed his knives, then peeked from his cover.  
  
The first knife missed; Hyunjin having ducked down behind the couch.  
  
The second two embedded themselves in the fabric.  
  
“Han! Han stop!” He heard Chan yell.  
  
From his peripheral he watched Changbin push Jeongin behind himself, shielding the younger boy.  
  
“What are you, nuts?” Changbin shouted, his voice cracking on the last word. “No knife throwing in the house!”  
  
“Han chill!” Chan continued to yell.  
  
When Jisung peeked out from his cover once more he could see that Chan had placed himself in front of the couch, his hands held open-palmed in front of himself.  
  
“Look, I know this recruitment isn’t ideal- “  
  
“Recruitment?” Jisung couldn’t help but scoff at Chan’s words, standing up again. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”  
  
“Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?” Changbin asked, one arm still outstretched around Jeongin, who was watching with wide eyes.  
  
Jisung couldn’t help but scoff once more. This was insane. “You can’t recruit him!” He shouted, ignoring Changbin for now. “He can’t be trusted!”  
  
“That’s rich coming from the guy who tried to kill me!” Hyunjin yelled from behind the couch.  
  
‘Un-fucking-believable. ‘Jisung thought. “I’m still pissed that you survived asshole!” He shouted.  
  
Hyunjin couldn’t be here. What the hell had Chan been thinking.  
  
He walked out of the kitchen, stabbing his fourth knife into the drywall he passed as he turned down the hallway to his bedroom.  
  
“Han, wait!” He heard Chan call out.  
  
He slammed the door behind himself, only for it to be yanked open seconds later by the leader, who shut it slightly quieter behind him this time.  
  
For a while, the room was silent save for the sounds of his own harsh breathing. He scrunched his eyes tight, his fists balled even tighter by his sides.  
  
The miniature oscillating fan that sat on his bedside table whirred quietly, ruffling the papers that were crammed underneath it; unpaid bills, a parking ticket, fast food delivery flyers.  
  
He unbuttoned his jacket and threw it atop the pile of laundry that was forming in the center of his room. Aware that Chan was watching him, he sat down heavily on his bed, let his head drop to his hands.  
  
“You’re an asshole.” Jisung finally said, his voice projecting to the ground.  
  
“I know.” Chan said, his voice softer. “I’m sorry, I should have warned you- “  
  
“Yeah ya’ think?” Jisung couldn’t help but interrupt. He raised his head to look at the older. “What the hell were you thinking? He can’t join us!”  
  
Chan pursed his lips and looked away from Jisung, “That’s not for you to decide.”  
  
“Like hell it isn’t!” Jisung stood from the bed, “This team has got to be filled with people that we can trust – or at least learn to trust!”  
  
Chan exhaled. “You could learn to trust him, you trusted him once before- “  
  
“Yeah and look where that got me.”  
  
Another silence filled the room.  
  
“Look, Han, I know it won’t be easy – “  
  
“No. It’s not going to be anything at all, because he’s not joining our crew- “  
  
“Do you know anyone else that’s as good a shot as him that would join us?” Chan interrupted this time. His voice challenging,  
  
Jisung’s silence was answer enough.  
  
“You hate the guy. I get it. It’s not ideal but you’re going to have to suck it up and stop acting like a damn child, ‘cause I’m going to need both of you if I want to do this!  
  
And with that, Chan left the room, slamming the door behind him this time.  
  
“Fuck you!” Han yelled after him. Looking around his room, he scoffed. “Fuck this,” he said furiously to himself.  
  
Ignoring the others in the apartment who seemed to have gathered in the living room, Jisung ran out the front door.  
  
He didn’t have car keys, not that he had a license at all, so he ended up hailing a taxi.  
  
“Take me to the convenience store.” He growled.  
  
“Which one?” The confused driver asked.  
  
“Any one far from here.”  
  
Nodding unsurely, the taxi driver began to drive.  
  
After almost 45 minutes of driving, the taxi driver asked for the nth time if the convenience store, he found was fine and Jisung finally said ‘yes.’  
  
The bell rang as he walked in, the girl behind the cash looked younger than Jisung. ‘After-school job,’ Jisung thought to himself. As a student, his after-school jobs had always seemed to involve running drugs or cash.  
  
He walked through the aisles, debating whether or not he felt like holding the clerk up for some cash before realizing that, in his haste to leave the penthouse, he’d forgotten his gun.  
  
Quickly feeling up his own chest, he remembered that he no longer had his knives either.  
  
Suddenly anxious, he settled on a couple different chocolate bars and a pack of smokes. Quietly, he also grabbed two bottles of wine from the freezer at the back. He glanced at the clerk, who was typing something out on her phone. Then, swiftly, he ran back through the front door.  
  
“Hey!” He heard her shout from inside, but he was already flying down the street. Knocking people aside in his haste, angry shouts echoing from behind him as he ran.  
  
He smiled as he ran, it’d been too long. He’d missed the thrill of the chase. He ducked down a side alley, then another. He came out the other side on a less-busy road, where he quickly found another alley to run into.  
  
By the time he stopped running, he could no longer hear the shouts and footsteps behind him. He panted, laughing to himself. He had to do this more often.  
  
“Hey! You!”  
  
Startled, Jisung turned to look back down the alley where he came from. To his dismay, two police officers stood at the entrance to the alley.  
  
“Damn, that was fast.” He muttered to himself, turning on his heel to run the other way-  
  
“Don’t move! Put your hands where I can see them!” Another two cops blocked the other entrance.  
  
Jisung looked up, but the sides of the building were both smooth, there was nowhere for him to go.  
  
The first officer to speak moved forward, grabbing Jisung’s arms roughly and pinning them behind his back, forcing him to drop the stuff he’d stolen “You’re under arrest for theft and public disturbance.  
  
“My chocolate,” Jisung whined. Then he attacked. He shoved his elbow into the officer’s gut, and reared his head back slamming his skull into the cops’ nose.  
  
The man let out a howl of pain, the other officers quickly moved in, pinning Jisung to the wall. “Add resisting arrest and assaulting an officer to his charges!” The woman handcuffing him said. “You’re coming with us.”  
  
He started to laugh. All the shit he’d done over the years, all the shit he was planning on doing, and he got arrested for robbing a convenience store of all things.  
  
“This dude’s crazy- “The officer’s voice was muffled as the car door shut behind him.  
  
His laughs petered out, but his smile remained on his face. The handcuffs dug uncomfortably into his wrists; he could feel his lips bleeding where it had hit the wall when he was subdued. 

‘Chan’s going to kill me.’ He thought with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. And thank you so much to everyone who read and enjoyed the first chapter - I'm glad you are enjoying so far! I have midterms this week so the next update may take a little longer but I've got fun things planned so it should be fun to write! Thanks again!
> 
> And a special thanks to anyone re-reading this after the update :-)


	3. Jailbreak, Rocket Launchers, and a New Threat

“Chaaaan, I’m bored as hell, let’s go out.”  
  
“Fuck off.”  
  
Changbin pouted. Chan rolled his eyes. Changbin pouted harder. Chan rolled his eyes harder.  
  
Changbin sighed loudly and rolled over on the couch he was spread across. He downed the rest of the beer he was cradling.  
  
Chan continued to type away on his laptop.  
  
Changbin glared at him, and sighed again, louder.  
  
Chan coughed quietly.  
  
Changbin pouted again and threw the now-empty beer can at his friend’s head.  
  
It made a _‘ping’_ sound as it bounced off the back of his head.  
  
“All right fine! We can go to the stupid club!” Chan yelled.  
  
“Yaaaay!” Cheered Changbin, springing up from the couch. “Chan, you’re so good to me~”  
  
The taller man glared daggers at the younger, standing up from his chair.  
  
In the elevator, an old woman hummed a jaunty tune. Changbin began to hum along with her. She seemed absolutely delighted and gave him a mint from her purse before she departed on the first floor. Chan snatched the candy out of Changbin’s hand and shoved it in his mouth, chomping noisily.  
  
“Um… Chan?”  
  
“Payback.” Chan answered angrily. “For wasting my time with this again.”  
  
“No, um, it… was still in the wrapper…”  
  
Chan looked Changbin dead in the eye and swallowed.  
  
“Fuck you.” He said.  
  
Changbin burst into a fit of giggles, and Chan couldn’t help but follow suit soon after.  
  
The elevator doors opened to Jeongin, who looked out of breath.  
  
“Han’s been arrested.”  
  
“What?” Chan and Changbin exclaimed simultaneously, exchanging bewildered glances with each other before directing their attention back to their youngest recruit.  
  
“What the hell happened?” Chan continued, already retrieving his phone from his back pocket. “He wasn’t carrying, was he?”  
  
“No.” Jeongin replied quickly, “I managed to find his document of arrest,” he rolled his eyes at the look Changbin gave him, “I’m good at what I do, and the police department doesn’t have any crazy firewalls. Anyways, the charges are theft, public disturbance, resisting arrest, and assaulting an officer.”  
  
“Thank god.” Chan said, “It could have been so much worse. What was he think- “  
  
“But,” Jeongin interrupted, “It looks like they’ve had their feelers out for him for a while. I mean, he robbed a shitty little convenience store and three police units showed up? I have a feeling they’re planning on connecting him with some more severe charges.”  
  
A beat passed after Jeongin finished speaking.  
  
“We shouldn’t be talking out in the open like this,” Chan finally said. “Let’s head back upstairs and see what we can do.’  
  
Both Changbin and Jeongin nodded in response. Chan sighed as he turned and walked back into the elevator. He could already feel himself getting a headache.  
  
He didn’t want the younger to serve any jail time if he could help it. Not only were they just starting out as a new crew, but he’d never forgive himself if the last thing he and the younger did before he was arrested was argue. He hated arguing with Jisung, they knew each other too well. He always knew exactly what to do or say to piss the younger off, just as he was sure Jisung knew exactly how to piss him off.  
  
Chan couldn’t help but tap his foot anxiously as he watched the floor numbers rise. Jeongin stood beside him, his posture stiff. Chan glanced at the youngest and pursed his lips when he saw the hacker worrying his lower lip.  
  
He was a bit surprised that Jeongin had decided to stick around after that disaster of a first meeting. Chan had been greeting him and introducing himself while digging out the knives Jisung had embedded in the living room furniture. He’d had to warn the kid not to bang his head on the knife sticking out of the wall in the hallway on his way to his new bedroom.  
  
But he’d already proven to be useful, he’d expected the kid to fall asleep right away – not take a walk around the neighborhood. Lucky that he had, or they would have found out about Jisung’s arrest too late for sure.  
  
The bell dinged, signifying their stop. Chan quickly used his key, and the trio stepped back inside the penthouse.  
  
“Group meeting!” Chan shouted, walking past the kitchen on his way to the conference room. From down the hall, Hyunjin poked a tired head out of his and Jeongin’s shared room.  
  
“We’ve got an idiot to break out of jail.”

-

“Are you sure?” Jisung whined, jutting his lower lip out into a pout. “I promise its clean.”  
  
The officer wrinkled his nose in disgust, “For the last time, no. Please, for the love of God, do not bend and cough. I don’t want to, nor will I ever want to, see your asshole.”  
  
Jisung shrugged, “You’re missing out dude. It’s a party down there.”  
  
He faintly heard a “I don’t want to know…” as he was finally led into the holding cell. The officer behind him gave him a harsh shove and he stumbled over his own feet. The metal bars closed with a ‘clang,’ behind him.  
  
Jisung turned and stuck his tongue out at the back of the retreating officer, before sighing and walking further into the cell. It was entirely empty bar a lone man sitting on the metal bench in the corner. The guy wore black jeans and a dark green bomber - his head was ducked down into a black turtleneck and he wore a black face mask so Jisung couldn’t make out his features. However, from what he saw, the guy looked pretty young.  
  
“Yo!” Jisung tried, raising a hand. “’Sup?”  
  
The man looked up and turned to face Jisung, and for the second time that night Jisung felt his blood run cold.  
  
When he’d been faced with Hyunjin, he’d felt enraged. Looking at this man, all he felt was fear.  
  
It was the Mad Mercenary.  
  
The Mad Mercenary was a man who fit his title exactly. Hiring the Mad Mercenary was a double-edged sword – he always got the job done, but if he wasn’t paid what he thought he was owed he’d been known to wipe out entire gangs in a single night.  
  
The black face mask he always wore bore the mark of the Mad Mercenary - the teeth of a skeleton. He was ruthless, insane, probably, Jisung had never been unlucky enough to encounter the man in person. And know he was locked in a cell with just the two of them.  
  
The mercenary clearly noticed that Jisung had recognized him, because he huffed a silent laugh, rolled his eyes, and settled back down into his spot with his arms crossed.  
  
Jisung couldn’t tear his eyes away from the other. How on earth had the Mad Mercenary been arrested? Scenarios raced through his head, maybe he’d killed so many people in one night that even the police had been able to find him? Or maybe he’d killed someone so messily that there was too much blood to hide? Or maybe-  
  
“Han Jisung,” The Mad Mercenary said.  
  
Jisung almost pissed his pants.  
  
“U-Um. Hi! That’ uh- w-well I mean- “Jisung trailed off.  
  
The mercenary huffed another unkind laugh, “Bang Chan’s, right?”  
  
Jisung blinked, then furrowed his brows. He couldn’t help but bristle at that, “Um, I don’t belong to him, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”  
  
“Don’t you though?” The mercenary asked.  
  
If it were anyone else Jisung’s fist would already be down their throat, but he couldn’t help but be wary. He took a few steps further into the cell, eventually turning and leaning back against the far wall from the mercenary and crossing his arms.  
  
“No. I don’t” He responded finally, not rising to the bait. He forced his eyes away from the other, looking around at the hallway on the other side of the bars. He could faintly hear tapping at a computer on the other side of the far doorway.  
  
“Good.”  
  
Jisung whipped his head to look at the mercenary, eyes wide. “What?” He asked, bewildered.  
  
The mercenary sneered, getting to his feet. “What?” He echoed, “Are you just going to sit around and wait for your owner to pick you up like a lost dog at the dog pound? Or are you going to get out of here on your own abilities?”  
  
Jisung couldn’t help but smirk, “You have a way with words. You got a plan? Or all you all talk and no action?”  
  
The mercenary’s eyes crinkled, Jisung was sure that a grinned lurked somewhere beyond the black mask he was wearing. He cracked his knuckles. “You seem like you’ve got a loud mouth, why don’t you call over our friend from his office outside, hm?”  
  
Jisung kicked off from the wall he was leaning against, rolling his head onto either side of his neck. The holding cells were in the basement, but apart from that he hadn’t been paying much attention to the floor plan of the building he’d been marched through. As much as it irked him to admit, the other had been right in the fact that he’d been planning on waiting for Chan to bust him out somehow. If he was going to do this, he’d have to trust that the other knew where he was going.  
  
And why not? The Mad Mercenary was a legend, and Jisung really did not feel like spending the night in this dusty-ass holding cell.  
  
Jisung cleared his throat.  
  
“I’m bleeding!” He shrieked. “Oh, the humanity! He’s torn out my kidneys with his teeth! His shark teeth! He’s like a rabid animal – Oh no please not my gigantic penis!” Jisung began to rattle the bars, screaming and moaning all the while. “Won’t someone please save my life?”  
  
“What the hell is- “The portly officer began to ask as he entered the hall, heavy door swinging shut behind him. Before he could finish his sentence, the mercenary had grabbed his shirt through the bars and yanked him against the cell.  
  
“Let me go!” The officer fought back, spitting and raging, his face flushed red. Jisung saw him grab for the radio at his waist.  
  
“The radio!” Jisung called to the mercenary, who, quick as a whip, snaked his arm around the officer’s throat.  
  
Jisung watched as the man’s face turned from red to an almost-purple. Eventually his struggles ceased, and his head lolled. The mercenary relaxed his grip slightly.  
  
“Grab his keycard, will you?” He asked, quirking a brow at Jisung.  
  
Jisung nodded, extending his own arm through the bars. The man’s waist was rather large to reach around, and it took a few seconds for Jisung to be able to reach into his pocket and grab what felt like his keycard.  
  
He took it over to the cell door he’d been shoved through minutes prior and heard the sound of the officer’s body hitting the floor behind him.  
  
He wrapped his arm through the bars and scanned the keycard from the other side, quickly drawing back his arm before it got caught in the mechanism that opened the door.  
  
He briefly looked behind him to make sure the mercenary was following him and was greeted by a smirk, He returned the expression, and the pair quietly crept out of their holding cell.  
  
“The door leads to a hallway.” The mercenary explained as they walked the few steps it took to get to the door. “One end is the intake office, the other is the staircase. The staircase connects to one long hallway around the whole building, a straight way out.”  
  
Jisung nodded along. “So, we shouldn’t expect any trouble?”  
  
The mercenary snorted softly and looked down at Jisung, “Darling, we’re the trouble.”  
  
Jisung laughed. “Sounds good to me.” He extended the keycard and held it up against the reader next to the door. The small red light turned green, and he heard a click.  
  
“Let’s move.” The mercenary said softly.  
  
Swiftly, the two made their way down the poorly lit hallway that led to the stairs. At the base of the steps, they pressed their backs up against opposite walls on either side. Jisung instinctively reached for the gun he wasn’t carrying, a gesture that the other man undoubtedly noticed.  
  
“What? You need a gun to do all your fighting for you?” He asked mockingly.  
  
Jisung scoffed. “As if. Wait ‘til you see the carnage I can make with a grenade.”  
  
“Anyone can cause carnage with a grenade.” The other replied, unimpressed.  
  
“Not like me they can’t.”  
  
Jisung darted up the steps, the footsteps behind him assuring him he wasn’t alone. The stairway led to a similar, but more brightly lit hallway with a door directly in front of them and a right turn next to the doorway. A dull, metal sign on the door read, **‘EVIDENCE LOCKER.”**  
  
Jisung and the mercenary exchanged grins.  
  
The evidence locker was cramped, they ducked down behind a row of plastic bins as soon as they entered so as to avoid the detection of the clerk behind the desk near the second doorway. She adjusted the glasses on her sallow face, clearly absorbed in the pile of paperwork sat in front of her.  
  
Minho made a motion with his hand, then began to creep along the rows of evidence. Jisung followed, scanning the shelves for anything of interest.  
  
There were blue plastic bins and brown paper boxes and bags that lined the shelves. Most had labels that read ‘clothing’ or ‘terrain sample,’ one that read ‘excrement’ caused Jisung to wrinkle his nose.  
  
The mercenary paused ahead of Jisung; eyes glued to something beyond Jisung’s field of vision. Jisung quietly creeped up behind him, peeking over his shoulder His eyes lit up.  
  
‘Dangerous Cargo,’ a giant brown crate read. It lay on the floor against the back wall, begging to be rifled through.  
  
“Keep watch.” The mercenary whispered, crawling over to the box. Jisung pouted but silently agreed, glancing back in the direction they’d come from.  
  
“Holy- “  
  
Jisung turned back to the mercenary, who was lifting something from the box. As it was lifted out Jisung felt his chest expand.  
  
“Oh my God I want it.” Jisung said. Loudly.  
  
“Excuse me?” The clerk said from across the room. “Is someone back there?”  
  
“Shit!” Jisung exclaimed, tuning back to the other. “I’m sorr- “  
  
‘Oomph!’ The air was forced out of his lungs from the weight of the rocket launcher the other tossed to him. Jisung scrambled to not let it fall to the floor. His eyes filled with tears of happiness as he gazed down at the treasure in his arms.  
  
“Is this what holding a newborn is like?” He wondered aloud.  
  
“We gotta go!” The mercenary hissed. Cocking a shotgun that he’d pulled from the box.  
  
“I’m calling security…” The clerk worried aloud to herself, scurrying from the room.  
  
“Here.” The mercenary held out a black bag containing the rocket head ammunition for Jisung’s launcher. “Don’t use it ‘til we’re outside though, I don’t feel like blowing the fuck up today.”  
  
“No promises!” Jisung sing-songed, slinging the bag over his shoulder. “This day had gotten so much better! I should do this more often!”  
  
The mercenary laughed from beside him, “You’re not quite sane, are you?”  
  
Jisung looked over at him, “And you are?”  
  
The mercenary shrugged in acceptance, then turned to face the second entrance. “I’ll take point.” He said, sounding a bit too much like a solider for Jisung’s liking.  
  
“Aye aye, captain!” Jisung agreed, following behind the other’s hasty footsteps.  
  
In a move that came straight from an action movie, the mercenary kicked down the second door from the evidence room.  
  
“Don’t move!” Shouted a cop, moving in front of the pair.  
  
He fell to the ground with a loud thump, courtesy of the mercenary’s shotgun. Blood spraying across the opposite wall.  
  
The mercenary shot two more officers as they ran down a hallway, making another right turn at the end of it. The doorway opened into a lobby area. The few unfortunate bystanders screamed and ran when they saw the shotgun, the receptionist behind the desk ducking down immediately with a frightened squeal  
  
‘PING!”  
  
Jisung’s ears rung as a bullet missed his head by an inch. He crouched instinctively, loading his new toy.  
  
“Move!” The mercenary shouted as three more shots hit the wall where Jisung had been moments before.  
  
Jisung looked through a doorway to see an opening to what looked to be a bullpen full of officers in various states of uniform. He aimed his launcher.  
  
“Not yet you idio-!”  
  
The explosion flung Jisung off his feet and through the glass wall behind him onto the street.  
  
“Ugh!” He moaned, his back was on fire, ears ringing like crazy.  
  
Digging his hands into the ground, ignoring the piercing pain of the glass embedded in his palms, Jisung pushed himself up off of the ground.  
  
He swayed for a moment as he stood, his vision slightly wonky. He looked back at the police precinct and the damage he’d caused.  
  
He smiled. Then thrust his fists in the air and whopped for joy.  
  
“Idiot!”  
  
Jisung turned around to see the mercenary stumble to his own feet, the black face mask he had been wearing had been ripped from his face in the blast. A large scrape across his mouth left smears of red blood across the man’s lips. Soot lined his forehead and dusted around his eyes.  
  
Jisung wondered if he’d survived the blast just to meet his demise at the hands of the mercenary.  
  
A moment paused, Jisung had already tuned out the screaming and alarms sounding from the police station.  
  
The Mad Mercenary glared at him a moment longer, then sighed through his nose and rolled his eyes – Jisung wondered if he detected a hint of fondness behind the display of exasperation.  
  
“You’re an idiot.” The mercenary repeated, “Do that again and I’ll rip your lungs from your chest with my fist.”  
  
“Sound like a date!” Jisung replied cheerfully.  
  
Sirens sounded from down the street, red and blue lights cutting through the dark of night.  
  
“So, what’s our plan from here?” Jisung asked, wandering over to the other.  
  
The mercenary took a step backwards, “I’m afraid this is where we go our separate ways, Han. This was fun, but I work alone”  
  
Jisung frowned, “What- but- That’s it?”  
  
“That’s it.” The mercenary agreed, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find myself a car before the cops find us again.” He pointed towards the station.  
  
Armed officers had begun to exit the building, flashlights searching through the rubble. The sirens rounded the corner, the first police car coming into view.  
  
“Shit.” Han breathed. “Well what about m- “  
  
Out of nowhere, a black van rounded an adjacent street corner at speeds Jisung didn’t even know a van could go. It skidded to a halt near the wreckage. A familiar logo had been spray painted across the hood.  
  
“Yes!” Jisung exclaimed. He turned to the mercenary, who seemed slightly taken aback at the sudden vehicular appearance. “You should come with us.”  
  
“What?” The mercenary exclaimed, turning to Jisung. “No way! I don’t roll with crews!”  
  
“You’ve never met a crew like ours!” Jisung protested. “You said it yourself, right? Tonight was fun! It must be boring working on your own all the time, not to mention all the limitations that come from being in the game alone.”  
  
The mercenary pursed his lips, silent.  
  
“Please!” Jisung stuck his bottom lip out, “Chan will pay you more than you earn getting random jobs. And you can count on him to always pay you the full amount on time!”  
  
At the sound of the word ‘pay,’ the mercenary’s eyebrow quirked slightly. Jisung had to suppress a smirk, he’d caught him.  
  
“Fine.” The mercenary agreed. “I’ll see how you guys roll. Not making any promises though.”  
  
“Of course not!” Jisung agreed happily, grabbing the mercenary’s wrist and pulling him over to the van.  
  
“Hey!” The cops began to shout, they’d been spotted.  
  
“Quick! Get in!” Jeongin slid the van door open, pausing when he saw the stranger.  
  
Once they were both in the van, the driver – who Jisung was disgusted to see was Hyunjin – floored the gas. The blue and red lights faded from view, only faintly visible through the rear window. Even the sirens began to fade in the distance.  
  
“Yes! Nice escape!” Jisung crowed, waving his launcher around in the air.  
  
“Who the FUCK gave Jisung a rocket launcher?!” Changbin yelled from the seat in front of Jeongin’s, leaning into the side of the van to put as much distance between himself and the weapon as possible.  
  
“That’d be me.”  
  
All eyes turned to the man seated between Jisung and Jeongin in the backseat. Jisung watched Chan’s eyes widen as he realized who it was.  
  
“And you are...?” Changbin asked.  
  
“The Mad Mercenary.” Chan growled from the passenger seat. Jisung winced as Jeongin, seated beside him, retreated into his seat further. “Han, why the hell is he here?”  
  
“I don’t forgive you.” Jisung replied childishly, crossing his arms.  
  
“Wh- what?” Chan exclaimed, arms moving in disbelief.  
  
“You recruited Hyunjin,” he scowled, “without my permission, so I recruited…” He paused, turning to the mercenary beside him and realizing he didn’t know his name.  
  
“Minho,” he whispered to Jisung. Who misheard him and said,  
  
“Lee Know.”  
  
“Lee Know?” Chan asked incredulously.  
  
“Mm-hmm!” Jisung nodded.  
  
“You expect me to hire the Mad Mercenary as a permanent member of Stray Kids?”  
  
“That I do.” Jisung said.  
  
Chan sighed, dragging it out until his lungs ran out of oxygen and he had to sharply inhale again.  
  
“Fine. Consider him an apology gift then.”  
  
Jisung couldn’t help but cheer, wrapping an arm around Lee Know that was quickly shrugged off.  
  
Changbin scoffed skeptically and turned back in his seat. “Unbelievable…” He trailed off, turning his attention to his phone. Jeongin seemed fascinated by Lee Know - trying to stare without being caught from where he was sitting.  
  
“Nice to have you.” Hyunjin said finally, extending a hand to the other. Lee Know looked at it for a moment, then shook it slowly, humming in lieu of an answer.  
  
Jisung scoffed and settled back against the seat and looked out the window. His back throbbed in time with his heart, he was sure there were still pieces of glass embedded along his spine from when he’d been blown out the window. He looked at his bloody hands, which looked about as bad as he felt.  
  
From the front seat, Chan turned up the radio, to which Jisung began to sing along under his breath. His eyes grew heavy, and the cityscape passing by through his window slowly faded away as he fell asleep. 

He removed his eye from the scope, adjusted his grip on the rifle, then pressed it back. Movement registered in his peripheral, and he tracked the motions of the black van with the rifle. His finger rested on the trigger, though that wasn’t his objective.  
  
“Black van pulling up to the building, same one that left ‘bout an hour ago.” He zoomed further through the scope, looking in the windows of the van as it waited for the garage door to open. “Five- no sorry, six occupants. Another new face.” The van rolled down the ramp into the garage and out of sight.  
  
He sighed and leaned back from the scope. “You’re out?”  
  
“Getting out of the elevator now, I’ll take the stairs the rest of the way down. Don’t want to risk a run-in this soon.” The voice on the other side of the cellphone said. “Clear to exit?”  
  
“All clear.” He replied, He arched his shoulder, stretching the coiled muscles. “Packing up, meet you downstairs in a few.” He ended the call, then removed the scope from the sniper rifle.  
  
Methodically, he disassembled the rifle, putting each component back into its spot in the box. A layer of black velvet cradled each piece of the gun, the ammo compartment rattled as he removed the lid in order to store the cloth he used to clean each part.  
  
Closing the lid tightly, he stood from his perch and slid the window shut. Quickly and quietly he hurried down the concrete steps, sliding out through the backdoor facing the alley where he’d parked his car. He lifted the compartment in the trunk and stowed away the large black box, then closed the trunk and moved around the car to the driver’s seat.  
  
He started the car, turning on the seat warmers and breathing hot air into his freezing hands. He flexed his fingers, massaging the heels of his hands. Inspecting his nails, he noticed his left pointer finger getting longer than the rest – he’d have to file it down later.  
  
Precision was key in his line of work; he was as good as he was because he took the utmost care in preserving his tools; be it his hands or the gun he wielded.  
  
Without a sound, a man joined him in the passenger seat and gestured with a USB key.  
  
“We’re all set.”  
  
He nodded and began to drive. As they passed the tall building, he looked up to the top floor; the penthouse.  
  
‘They’ll see soon enough.’ He thought to himself. ‘They’ll see.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Everyone who has given kudos, bookmarked, and/or commented - thank you so so much! You guys motivate me to keep writing!


	4. Kidnappings, Mistaken Identities, and a Leather Jacket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also as I'm re-writing this I'm realizing that it's coming across very Changbin heavy. I've been replacing W*ojin's parts in the story thus far with Changbin just because he was the easiest to re-write. The other characters are all a bit too distinct to replace him. 
> 
> It will be more balanced between characters in future chapters!

“How’s it going back there?” Changbin called from the driver’s seat.  
  
Hyunjin fiddled with the tablet he’d received from Jeongin back at the penthouse. “Im so confused.” He moaned, letting his head thump against the headrest. “I’m shit with this tech stuff.”  
  
Changbin hummed from the driver’s seat, “Well figure it out, we don’t have all day.”  
  
Hyunjin sighed, looking down at the tablet. Furrowing his brows in confusion, he turned to look hopefully at the man in the seat next to him.  
  
“You any good with this kind of stuff?” He asked, gesturing to the tablet.  
  
The mad mercenary turned and stared at him, Hyunjin felt a shiver run down his spine. The mercenary’s cold eyes did not match the creepily smiling skeleton facemask he was wearing.  
  
Pursing his lips to stop them from trembling, he turned his attention back towards the tablet.  
  
“Ok then,” he muttered to himself.  
  
The tablet was still stuck on the list of names Jeongin had compiled with the help of Chan. The name “Yo Yongsan” was the only name in red text, indicating that he was their target for the day.  
  
Hyunjin had been initially excited, the past few weeks Chan had only let Changbin and Minho go on the ‘elimination missions,’ and after days of begging on Hyunjin’s end he’d finally allowed Hyunjin to tag along.  
  
Hyunjin had been pleased when Chan had swung by his and Jeongin’s room that morning to tell him the news – he’d always detested those who did not pull their own weight. Unfortunately, because Han was so close to their leader, Hyunjin had been left out of most of the crew’s activities so far. He knew that Han was whispering in Chan’s ear, Hyunjin was honestly surprised that he hadn’t been kicked to the curb yet.  
  
He tapped furiously on the name ‘Yo Yongsan’ a few more times, but the screen refused to change. A whining noise escaped his mouth involuntarily, and he peaked over at the mercenary, or ‘Lee Know’ as he’d been told to call him, to see if he’d heard.  
  
Lee Know didn’t even look over, his eyes lazily tracking the traffic outside of the window.  
  
Hyunjin sighed in relief and turned back to the tablet. Jeongin had made it look so easy.  
  
“You got it yet?” Changbin called once again, “I sort of need to know where I’m going.”  
  
Hyunjin winced, “Sorry! I’m- “He gestured as an apology and the tablet slipped from his lap. Making a noise of exclamation, he tried to catch it, only to fumble with it and send it flying into Lee Know’s lap.  
  
Slowly, Hyunjin raised his eyes to meet the mercenary’s. Elbows propping him up from where he now lay awkwardly outstretched across the backset of the car.  
  
Lee Know sneered down at him and picked up the tablet. Looking down at the list, he quickly tapped a few buttons on the edge of the tablet and then tapped the name. The screen switched to a full profile and schedule of Yo Yongsan.  
  
The mercenary looked down at Hyunjin, “The screen was locked. See if you can hold on to this next time, hm?” With cold eyes, he held the tablet out for Hyunjin to grab.  
  
He ungracefully got back into his seat, taking the tablet from Lee Know with a murmured ‘thank you.’ His eyes met with Changbin’s in the rearview mirror, who watched the exchange with narrowed eyes.  
  
He looked down at the screen and took in the information. Yo Yongsan was forty-three and had four children with three different wives. He worked on the board of directors at a company that Hyunjin recognized made weapons. Most of the gangs he worked for in the past had bought guns from this company, Hyunjin realized, they were trying to stifle their competition.  
  
Nodding, Hyunjin continued to scan the screen. Yongsan looked older than his age, his hair was thinning, and his beard was already streaked with grey. His eyes, Hyunjin thought to himself, looked mean.  
  
“His schedule?” Changbin prompted, eyes flicking between the traffic and Hyunjin.  
  
“Hmm,” Hyunjin made a noise as he looked through Yongsan’s schedule. “He should be leaving a meeting in…” He checked his watch, “Ten minutes or so. Then he’ll head outside for a smoke in the smoking area beside the building. Should be nice and secluded.”  
  
“Music to my ears.” Lee Know said, reaching below the seat in front of him and grabbing a sleek black box the size of a toaster. Hyunjin watched as discreetly as he could as the mercenary unlatched the front and opened it up. With practiced hands he assembled the pistol, fixing a silencer to the front at the end.  
  
"This should do nicely,” he continued, aiming it at Hyunjin.  
  
Hyunjin felt his eyes widen in sudden fear. “Wha-?”  
  
“Pew.” The mercenary said, making a gun noise with his mouth as he pretended to shoot Hyunjin. Hyunjin must have been making a face because the mercenary began to cackle.  
  
Feeling his ears grow warm, Hyunjin huffed and turned away from the madman, crossing his arms defensively and looking out of his window. Changbin, Hyunjin noted embarrassedly, was chuckling along.  
  
Minutes passed, and a tall glass-paned building came into view.  
  
“Here we are.” Changbin announced, I’ll let you out separately, once I’ve parked let’s meet up behind that one.” He pointed out a shorter concrete building about a block away from where their target was.  
  
“Me first!” Hyunjin called out, itching to be on the move. Changbin nodded and pulled over at a red light. The delivery van behind them honked as Hyunjin got out, Hyunjin flipped them off.  
  
He strolled down the street as casually as he could, shoving his hands in the pockets of his zip-up hoodie. Across the street, a police cruiser pulled up to a red light, Hyunjin instinctively pulled his cap further down over his eyes. He bumped shoulders with a man in a suit who was on the phone as he walked past the glass-paned building. He glanced up at it, wondering if Yo Yongsan had any friends in that building who would miss him once he was gone.  
  
As he walked towards the meet-up point, Hyunjin realized that this was his first assassination mission. Sure, he’d killed people before, but the stealth aspect was new to him.  
  
With determination, he decided that he must not fail. He had to prove himself useful to Chan and the others, in any way he could.  
  
The concrete building looked to be a residential building. He quietly diverged from the mass of people walking down the sidewalk and made his way down the side alley. Behind the building was a small parking lot, Hyunjin hopped the fence and made his way over to where he saw Lee Know leaning against the wall of the building.  
  
“Why didn’t Changbin just park here?” Hyunjin wondered aloud to himself. “There’s tons of spots.”  
  
“That’s why.” The mercenary responded, pointing upwards. Hyunjin followed his finger to the security camera it was pointing at. Hyunjin startled and quickly looked down, glaring at the mercenary.  
  
“You asshole! You made me show my face to that thing!”  
  
The mercenary laughed. “Maybe they’ll suspect you when a body turns up less than a block away. They’ll finally have a picture to attach to your file.”  
  
Hyunjin managed to refrain from pouting, and instead frowned at the mercenary’s words. “How did you know they don’t have a picture on my file?”  
  
Lee Know’s eyes crinkled derisively. “Little I.N has a folder for each of us. I just felt like taking a little peak.”  
  
Hyunjin swallowed. “A folder? Like with what kind of stuff in it?” His fists balled in his pockets.  
  
The mercenary kicked off of the wall and began to walk toward him, “Not much, just what he could find. Police files, immigration papers, driver’s licenses…” His eyes met Hyunjin’s, “Hospital records.”  
  
Hyunjin’s blood ran cold. He took a step back. “You- “  
  
“Hey guys!”  
  
Hyunjin turned, ‘too skittishly’, he reprimanded himself, towards Changbin. The older jogged towards the two of them, backpack slung over one shoulder.  
  
“We’ve got to get a move on, Clock’s ticking.” He pointed towards his own watch. Then, noticing the lack of distance between Hyunjin and Lee Know, frowned and said, “Everything okay here?”  
  
“Just fine.” Lee Know replied, stepping away from Hyunjin and walking towards their target’s location. Hyunjin let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.  
  
Changbin turned to look at him. “What about you? Did he say anything to you?”  
  
Hyunjin smiled weakly as they began to walk together behind Lee Know. “I’m fine, he was just being his own creepy self. You know how it is.”  
  
Changbin nodded slowly, “Ok, if you say so.” Clearly disbelieving.  
  
Hyunjin turned to look at the mercenary’s back. “I do say so.” With a wince he realized that had come out sharper than intended.  
  
“Ok, ok.” Changbin raised his hands up, “Not gonna pry.”  
  
Hyunjin sighed, hoping he hadn’t ruined one of the only good relationships he’d formed since joining Stray Kids.  
  
When he’d first met him, Hyunjin had thought that Changbin had seemed like a nice guy. He’d welcomed him without hostility and had helped him and Jeongin settle into their room. He had also taken him and Jeongin out for BBQ after their second day at the penthouse, which made him a great guy in Hyunjin’s book.  
  
Jeongin was probably the closest thing he had to a friend in the penthouse. They’d both joined up on the same day and were also roommates. Jeongin as a roommate was pretty messy, but Hyunjin had grown to enjoy the younger’s company.  
  
Chan had been distant, no doubt thanks to Han’s interference. And the newest recruit, Lee Know, was too scary to spend any time with. Not to mention his terrible personality.  
  
‘No wonder he and Han get along’. Hyunjin thought to himself.  
  
Lee Know slowed to a halt ahead of them, prompting Hyunjin to slow down and stop as well.  
  
They’d arrived.  
  
There was a concrete wall around the back of the building, the back area elevated above ground area. The wall was too high to see over, and just peeking over would get them caught in less than a second.  
  
The others seemed to have come to a similar conclusion, as they’d both begun to snoop around the entirety of the back perimeter.  
  
Looking up, Hyunjin could see the outlines of desk in the windows up above. The first visible floor above the wall was the third floor, though he noted that there didn’t seem to be anyone seated at their desks at the moment.  
  
“Over here!” Changbin called from around the side of the wall.  
  
Hyunjin jogged over to where Changbin and Lee Know stood. He immediately saw what they were looking at – a crack at the base of the wall no wider than Hyunjin’s foot.  
  
“Wanna have a look?” Changbin asked, the hint of a smirk on his face.  
  
Hyunjin looked down at the dirt he’d have to lie in and groaned. But acquiesced and lay on his stomach, shuffling over so that his eye lined up with the hole in the wall.  
  
Inside the perimeter of the wall, the ground seemed to be stone. A few garbage bins lined the far wall. Seeing no feet inside, Hyunjin retreated and looked up at the other two.  
  
“Looks clear, no one’s there yet.”  
  
Nodding, Lee Know took a few steps back from the wall. “We’ll hide inside and lay in wait.” Was all he said before taking a running jump at the wall.  
  
Hyunjin squealed and covered his head with his arms, curling into a ball on the ground as the mercenary sailed overhead and hoisted himself over the wall.  
  
Changbin chuckled from where he stood, taking a few steps back as well.  
  
“Oh no you don’t!” Hyunjin yelped, getting to his feet and out of the way as Changbin ran at the wall. He scrambled over the top less gracefully then Lee Know, leaving Hyunjin to his own devices.  
  
Sighing, he too took a running leap at the wall and hoisted himself over – the cold concrete scraping against his hoodie uncomfortably. He managed to land quietly on the other side, quickly straightening up and turning towards Changbin and Lee Know who were frozen in place.  
  
Looking over, Hyunjin froze as well.  
  
Yo Yongsan’s head poked out the top of the large garbage bin the stood next to the building. His throat had been slashed; blood soaked through the white collar of his button-up. Transfixed, Hyunjin walked closer to get a better look.  
  
The body had been stuffed in there post-mortem, the blood had soaked through nearly the entire front of his shirt. Yongsan’s wrists were bound by his own blue tie, his mouth hung ajar.  
  
Hyunjin quickly glanced at the building, but the lack of windows on the first two floors and the solid metal door kept them in relative privacy.  
  
He tuned back to Changbin and Lee Know.  
  
“Someone got here before us.” He said, looking between the two of them.  
  
“Damn it!” Lee Know swore, turning back to the wall they’d jumped over and beginning to climb it once more.  
  
Changbin too, looked frustrated. Following the mercenary without a word.  
  
Confused, Hyunjin followed them. “Wait, wait!” They both ignored him and kept walking. “Guys wait up!”  
  
He followed them all the way back to where Changbin had hidden the car. Refusing to sit in the back seat and continue being ignored, he sat in the passenger seat and turned to stare at  
Changbin.  
  
Changbin started the car and sighed, then looked over at Hyunjin.  
  
“This isn’t the first time we’ve come to kill a target and they’ve already been killed.”  
  
Hyunjin blinked. “What?”  
  
Changbin looked out the front and began to drive. Lee Know sat, seething in the back seat.  
  
“Someone keeps killing our targets before us. We don’t know who, we don’t know why, and we don’t know how.” He sighed again. “Chan’s gonna be so pissed.”  
  
Hyunjin gulped and settled into his eat. Someone was killing their targets before them? Why? What was their goal?  
  
“I think Chan has a plan though,” Changbin continued after a few minutes passed. “Or at least, he mentioned something. We need to find out what’s going on, it’s too early in the game for this to be happening; for someone else to be taking our hits.”  
  
“I wonder who it could be?” Hyunjin wondered aloud. “Another crew do ya’ think?”  
  
“Whoever it is has a world of hurt waiting for them.” Lee Know growled darkly from the back seat.  
  
“I’ll kill them myself.”

-

Changbin was firmly of the belief that he sucked at stakeout-duty.  
  
He was too fidgety, his muscles always cramped, and he got bored too quickly.  
  
Lee Know on the other hand, was perfect at it.  
  
He lay, still as a rock, hands never shaking as he peered down the sight of his rifle. Changbin watched a red ant crawl over both of the other’s arms. The mercenary didn’t even flinch.  
  
Impressed, Changbin re-adjusted arms for the nth time, hissing at how sore the tips of his elbows had gotten from digging to the ground for the past two hours. The sky was still dark, the sun had yet to rise.  
  
“Time?” Lee Know whispered from where he lay.  
  
Changbin checked his watch, he couldn’t risk his phone screen lighting up and giving away their location. “4:12!” He whispered back. “We would have gone in for 4:30, so whoever they are will be going for the target in the next few minutes.”  
  
Lee Know nodded, then activated his com. “Han, is your team in position?”  
  
A crackle sounded from the mercenary’s earpiece. Changbin couldn’t hear the response, so he looked over at the other to gauge his reaction.  
  
“Ok.” Lee Know replied, straight faced. His focus re-directed down the scope of his gun.  
  
Changbin cleared his throat. Lee Know looked over, brows furrowed faintly in confusion.  
  
Changbin rolled his eyes. “You, me.” He pointed between the two of them. “Team! We share information!” He whispered aggressively.  
  
The mercenary rolled his eyes. “They’re on their way as if they were doing this normally. If anyone is watching them, they won’t be suspicious that no one is coming to eliminate the target.”  
  
Changbin nodded mockingly and gave the mercenary a thumbs up, “Good job! You learned what ‘teamwork’ is!”  
  
Lee Know growled and turned back to his scope. Changbin opened his mouth to tease him some more but the older cut him off.  
  
“There! Someone’s moving in!”  
  
Looking over, Changbin raised his binoculars to his eyes. Sure enough, a lithe man was scaling the drainpipe up the side of the house. The figure looked around, fiddled with the window which popped opened after a minute or so, then slid inside.  
  
“Holy shit!” Changbin whispered. “Did you see that? How the hell did he do that? He’s like a ninja or something!”  
  
“Shh!” Lee Know whispered from beside him. “I’m trying to get a clear shot.”  
  
Changbin looked over at Lee Know and quieted down, turning his attention back to the house.  
  
Less than three minutes passed before Changbin saw movement in the window again.  
  
“There!” He called out to Lee Know, who made a minute movement with the rifle.  
  
The figure closed the windows behind them, fiddled with the outside once again, then shimmied back over to the drainpipe.  
  
“Don’t let him get on the ground!” Changbin whispered.  
  
“I know!” The mercenary responded through gritted teeth.  
  
The first tranquilizer whistled out of the silenced gun, missing the masked figure and hitting the wall beside him. The man jolted, looking right at them –  
  
The second bullet hit.  
  
“Yes!” Whisper-cheered Changbin, as the figure immediately lost consciousness and fell from the drainpipe onto the grass below. “Ooh, that’s gotta hurt.”  
  
“Let’s go.” Lee Know said, already jogging back over to the car they’d arrived in. “Han and the others will pick him up, they’re out front.”  
  
“You missed the first shot.” Changbin called, standing up and stretching, he felt his back pop in three different places.  
  
“You distracted me.” The mercenary growled, getting in the car. “Now get in, who know how many of them are working together.”  
  
“Pft.” Changbin scoffed, twisting his upper body back and forth, then leaning backwards with his hands on his hips. “Give me a break, my muscles are all- “  
  
The ground beside the car exploded.  
  
“We’re under fire! Get in!” Lee Know shouted, shutting his own passenger seat door.  
  
“Shit!” Changbin yelped, running towards the car. The ground behind him exploding a second later.  
  
He ran around the car and dove into the driver’s seat.  
  
“Drive!” Lee Know bellowed, ducking down as his window exploded in a rain of glass.  
  
Changbin slammed his foot on the gas and the car lurched forward. Leaving behind a trail of dust and broken glass.  
  
He panted, his heart racing in his cheat. “Holy shit.” He breathed after a minute.  
  
Lee Know held a hand to his ear, then nodded slightly and took the com out. “They got the guy, he’s still out cold. They’re bringing him to the ‘warehouse’. Apparently, you know where that is.”  
  
Changbin nodded slowly. The warehouse, huh? That could only mean one thing.  
  
“We need to stop by my old apartment.” Changbin said slowly. “I need to pick up some stuff.”  
  
“What stuff? We should go straight to the warehouse.” Lee Know argued.  
  
Changbin shook his head slowly, feeling a weight settle in on his brow. “If Chan wants us to bring him to the warehouse, that means he wants me to interrogate him.” Changbin took his eyes off the road to look at the mercenary. “I’ll need my tools if I’m going to get him to talk.”  
  
Lee Know nodded, a slight look of surprise in his eyes, “Fine. Your place, then the warehouse.”

-

Felix woke up and felt like he’d been hit by a truck.  
  
His entire back throbbed in pain, his neck sending stabbing pains down his spine with any movement. A spot just beside his shoulder blade ached particularly bad. ‘That’s where I was shot.’ Felix thought to himself.  
  
He opened his eyes and looked around.  
  
He seemed to be in an empty room. The texture of the walls and ceiling made him think ‘warehouse.’ His forearms and wrists were bound together behind his back, wincing at the pain in his neck he looked down and saw that he was seated on a yellow metal chair. The ground beneath him was covered in stains, red, brown, black, probably months old.  
  
The room was quite stuffy, a bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck. His waist and shoulders were also tied to the chair. He swayed back and forth, but the chair was affixed to the ground.  
  
Whoever had him tied up had clearly done this before.  
  
Luckily, he had too.  
  
He forced his breathing to remain calm. Depending on what his captors wanted from him they would either leave him to starve for a few days to weaken him, or they would come in as soon as they knew he’d awakened,  
  
Guiltily, Felix thought of Seungmin. He hoped that the younger would be okay in his absence. Seungmin was strong, Felix knew that, but he’d never handled separation well.  
  
The knob of the door turning stole Felix’s attention, and he prepared to meet his captor.  
  
Three people entered the room. Felix was a little surprised to see that they did not look much older than himself. He kept his mouth shut, however, he refused to give them any information until he knew more about the situation.  
  
The man in the middle, the leader most likely, spoke first.  
  
“We’d like this to be easy for both sides of this, hm? Answer a couple questions of mine and no harm will come to you.”  
  
Felix remained passive, waiting for the leader to ask his questions. The narrow-faced man on the left held up a tablet for Felix to see. On the screen was the photo of a man Felix remembered killing weeks previous.  
  
“You know him?” The leader asked.  
  
The guy with the tablet swiped across the screen. This time, a woman Felix remembered killing. He swiped again, and again, and again. All targets that Felix had killed in the past month. The last photo was of the couple that Felix had killed in their bed the morning he’d been caught.  
  
The photos were the Stray Kids’ targets. Felix wondered how these people had found out about them, perhaps they were trying to take down Stray Kids?  
  
Felix hardened, and said nothing. Seungmin had handled all of the information anyways, he himself knew nothing about who he was killing, who the Stray Kids members were, or why they wanted these people dead.  
  
‘They must think I’m with Stray Kids.’ Felix thought to himself. ‘Perhaps I was killing members of their gang?’ He didn’t think that was the case due to the variety of different targets he’d had, but perhaps he was wrong.  
  
“Why did you kill them?” The leader asked.  
  
Felix didn’t answer.  
  
The leader sighed, straightening up. “Very well, hopefully Changbin can convince you to talk. He can be very… persuasive.”  
  
The leader and the dude with the tablet left the room, leaving Felix alone with the shortest of the three – the one he assumed to be Changbin.  
  
The narrow-faced one returned after a moment, wheeling in a metal cart with a black sheet over top of it. He quickly left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.  
  
Felix watched his interrogator, Changbin, take off his leather jacket. He tossed it to the bottom level of the metal cart, cracking his neck by letting either side of his head touch his shoulder.  
  
The muscled arms told Felix that this dude would certainly pack a punch. Changbin was left in only a black tank top. Felix wondered if he didn’t want to get his jacket dirty.  
  
Watching the black sheet be whipped off of the cart, Felix was greeted by an array of tools. Knives, scalpels, a gun, a lighter, a hammer, a jar of a white granular substance that Felix hoped was sugar and not salt, and a nasty looking pair of plier-looking things that looked like they might cut through bone.  
  
Felix nearly groaned aloud, he hated being tortured. Certainly one of his least favourite activities to participate in.  
  
Changbin’s hand hovered over the cart for a moment, picking out which instrument of torture he first wished to use. His hand drifted down to a small knife, which he twirled through his fingers as he lifted it from its place on the tray.  
  
Felix gritted his teeth as the shorter man walked towards him. He forced himself not to look away. His interrogator looked down at him, his lips pressed together, his eyes bore into Felix’s own.  
  
But he refused to back down, he stared right back, barley wincing as Changbin traced the knife down the center of his chest- just hard enough to cut through the thin grey top he was wearing. The two halves of his shirt separated and exposed his bare chest.  
  
Felix refused to be the first one the break eye contact.  
  
Changbin made another line, the first one to draw blood, along the line of his right collarbone. Felix hissed through his teeth at the pain. Changbin cocked his head, a ghost of a smirk flit across his face.  
  
Felix refused to give him the satisfaction.  
  
He felt another drop of sweat trail down from his hairline as Changbin carved another line, this one from the top of his ribcage diagonally to his navel. Felix glared at the other as his interrogator looked at his handiwork.  
  
“Your name?” Changbin said after a minute had passed and the blood had stopped flowing from the two cuts he’d made.  
  
Felix debated whether or not it was worth giving him his name. “Yongbok.” He said after a minute.  
  
His interrogators eyes widened slightly at the timbre of Felix’s voice, an action that Felix couldn’t help but smirk a bit at.  
  
“My name is Yongbok.”  
  
Changbin blinked twice more before he regained the same cold look in his eyes as before. Felix couldn’t help but be pleased that he’d caught the other off guard.  
  
Changbin retraced the two cuts he’d made thrice each, each slice deeper than the last.  
  
Minutes passed and he asked another question.  
  
“Do you know the names of the two people you killed this morning?”  
  
Felix smirked again. Finally, some information.  
  
So, his captors seemed to know that he’d had two targets today even though they’d waited until he was out of the house to attack him. That told him that they most likely already knew the identities of the two targets seeing as they probably didn’t see him while he was inside of the house.  
  
It also seemed as though he hadn’t been out for more than a day, which meant that Seungmin probably wasn’t too worried about him yet.  
  
Unfortunately, Changbin seemed to catch the look of relief on Felix’s face, because he didn’t give him time to answer.  
  
“You have someone waiting for you? A partner?”  
  
Felix tried to suppress the alarm that he felt at that question, they couldn’t find out about Seungmin.  
  
“No, I’m just glad I’ve only missed a few meals. I think I’ll go out for some BBQ tonight.” Felix replied a smoothly as he could. It was a poor deflection, but he’d been caught off guard.  
  
Changbin seemed unimpressed but didn’t push. Instead, he lifted Felix’s chin with the blade of the knife.  
  
“Their names? The people you killed.”  
  
“I don’t know.” Felix answered truthfully. “But you do.”  
  
He wished he knew how these people knew so much about Stray Kid’s targets. Seungmin hadn’t mentioned anything about rival gangs besides the other main three, and Felix had a feeling Changbin didn’t belong to any of them.  
  
Changbin looked a bit confused by Felix’s second statement, Felix couldn’t help but wonder why. Perhaps he didn’t know their names? Or maybe he was confused as to why Felix didn’t?  
  
“Of course I know.” Changbin said after a moment. “Why wouldn’t I?”  
  
Felix narrowed his eyes.  
  
Changbin walked over to the cart once more and placed down the bloody knife. He grabbed the jar of ‘hopefully’ sugar, though Felix doubted it.  
  
He walked back over to Felix and poured some onto his hand. “What do you know about Stray Kids?”  
  
Felix pursed his lips. He refused to give him any information, not that he had any.  
  
At his silence, Changbin’s eyes darkened and he smeared the white grains into the long cut across his chest.  
  
Felix squeezed his eyes shut as Changbin continued to dig the salt into his wound. He forced the sounds of pain down his throat. He could handle this, he had before.  
  
“What do you want with Stray Kids?” Changbin asked. Again, Felix refused to answer.  
  
Changbin traced along Felix’s collarbone delicately with a finger, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. The second time he did so, he left a trail of salt instead. Felix grit his teeth at the pain.  
  
Changbin returned the salt to the cart and grabbed the hammer. Felix nearly groaned aloud at the sight of it. He braced himself for the onslaught of inevitable pain.  
  
As he adjusted his grip on the hammer, the muscles in Changbin’s arms shifted. Felix knew without a doubt that his interrogator was strong enough to break his fingers with the hammer.  
  
Wiping the blood off of his hand onto his black wifebeater, Changbin made his way back over to Felix.  
  
“Why are you targeting Stray Kids?”  
  
Felix paused at the question. It almost sounded like…  
  
“What- I’m not targeting Stray Kids.” Felix said.  
  
Changbin rolled his eyes. “Going after our targets? You’ve sent a pretty clear message I’d say.”  
  
“Wait- our targets? Are you working for Stray Kids?” Felix exclaimed.  
  
Changbin blinked. “Um, yeah? I’m one of the fucking founding members.”  
  
Felix groaned aloud and let his head hang backwards, ignoring the twinge of pain in his neck as he did so. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”  
  
Changbin frowned. “Uh, I’m not?”  
  
Felix opened his eyes again and laughed nervously. “We haven’t been targeting Stray Kids, we’ve been trying to like, show you our resume?”  
  
Changbin blinked. His expression incredulous. “What?”  
  
Felix licked his lips nervously. “We uh- well we thought that if you guys saw how good we are at like killing people and breaking into places and organizing stuff that you guys would consider letting us join?”  
  
Changbin stared at him a moment longer, then burst into laughter. “Holy shit, that’s hilarious! Let me go get Chan!” He tossed the hammer back onto the cart and left the room.  
  
“Uh, let me out?” Felix called after him to no reply.  
  
Sighing, he relaxed back into the chair as much as he could. He really had got this all wrong. He’d assumed that Changbin was trying to get dirt on Stray Kids, when in actuality he was with Stray Kids and they’d thought that he was in a rival gang or something.  
  
Seungmin was going to kill him for being such an idiot.  
  
A minute later, Changbin returned with the guy Felix had earlier assumed to be in charge. He just hadn’t realized how ‘in charge’ he was.  
  
“So, you want to join Stray Kids?” He asked disbelievingly.  
  
“Yup.” Replied Felix. “Sort of didn’t realize that was you guys.”  
  
The leader squinted at him. “Are you Korean?”  
  
Felix shook his head slowly. “No I’m, uh, I’m from Australia. My actual name is Felix.”  
  
The leader’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding?” He spoke in English with a familiar accent. “I was born in Australia too!”  
  
Felix felt his own eyes widen. It had been years since he’d heard the familiar accent. “No way…”  
  
The leader smiled then. “Well Felix, to be honest, you were willing to be tortured instead of giving up information about Stray Kids even though you weren’t part of our crew.”  
  
Felix swallowed and nodded.  
  
“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure that all of our own members would display the same sort of loyalty.” The leader continued. “Felix, if you want to join our crew, I think you’d make a great fit.”  
  
Felix’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t stop the smile that spilt across his face. But then he remembered Seungmin, who was probably back at home freaking out right now.  
  
“What about my friend? He’s the one who did all of the research and planning. And he’s really good with a sniper rifle!”  
  
“He’s the one who shot at us when we took you down!” Changbin exclaimed in Korean.  
  
“Probably…” Felix laughed a bit uncertainly. He turned back to Chan and switched back to English again. “But seriously, if I join, he joins. He’s my other half.”  
  
Chan frowned but nodded. “I’d like to meet him, of course. But if he has the same loyalties as you then I don’t see why that would be an issue.”  
  
Felix sighed in relief. “Thank you so much! I’ll take you to meet him, we share an apartment about ten blocks away from where you guys live.”  
  
A pause, then- “How do you know where we live?” Changbin asked.  
  
Felix laughed nervously, “Uh, we don’t?”  
  
Chan sighed good-naturedly. “All right, why don’t we go find Seungmin, and then I’ll introduce you guys to the rest of the crew.”  
  
Felix nodded enthusiastically. “Can I get untied anytime soon? And, uh, a new shirt would be fantastic.”  
  
Changbin blushed, “Uh, right. Here.” He handed Felix the jacket he’d thrown aside earlier. The leader made quick work of the ropes using a knife that Changbin hadn’t used earlier. Felix moaned in relief and rubbed at his aching wrists.  
  
“I’m Chan by the way,” the leader, Chan, said, “Or Chris. But most people call me Chan.”  
  
Felix nodded as he stretched out his aching back.  
  
He followed Changbin and Chan out of the warehouse they’d kept him in. Out front there was a motorcycle and a black sportscar.  
  
“I’ll follow you guys.” Changbin called out as he walked over to the bike, fixing a helmet onto his head.  
  
Felix followed Chan into the car, wincing when the cuts on his chest stung as he sat down.  
  
“Sorry about that.” Chan said, looking over.  
  
Felix tried to smile but ended up grimacing. “’s all right.” He replied.  
  
He instructed Chan on where to drive, leading him to and through the shitty neighborhood that he and Seungmin called home.  
  
“This is it.” He said, looking up at the sketchy four-story concrete building. “Third floor.”  
  
Changbin dismounted his motorcycle as Felix and Chan exited the car. He took the black helmet off and shook his head, his hair whipping around.  
  
“You look like a dog.” Chan teased. “Woof woof.”  
  
Changbin pretended to growl at him, to which Chan and Felix responded with laughter.  
  
The three made their way into the building, Felix inserting his pin code into the machine at the lobby entrance,  
  
They took the stairs after Felix explained the death traps that were the apartment complex’s elevators. By the time they reached the third floor Felix was panting due to over-exertion. His back and neck ached and the cut across his chest stung every time the jacket he worse brushed against them.  
  
They walked down the hallway, stepping over cigarette buts and empty bottles of beer. All of the hallway lights but one were broken, flickering on and off in discordance.  
  
They finally reached Felix’s door; Felix felt his energy waning. He tried the knob, but it was locked. He realized that, due to his kidnapping, he didn’t have his key on him. He sighed and knocked at the door – three short knocks, a pause, then four more.  
  
He heard footsteps rushing from inside the apartment, the door swung open.  
  
“Seungm-!” The air was forced out of his lungs as he received and armful of Seungmin. He squeezed back just as tightly, burrowing his face in his best friend’s shoulder. He smelled like home.  
  
After a moment, Seungmin released him. Felix watched the younger’s eyes flit between Changbin and Chan. His brow furrowed.  
  
“Stray Kids?”  
  
Changbin snorted. “At least you recognize us.”  
  
Felix watched Seungmin’s face put together what had happened, then the realization that spread across it.  
  
He looked back at Felix. “You’re an idiot.” He said.  
  
“I got us in though.” Felix replied, smiling.  
  
Seungmin’s eyes widened. He looked over to Chan. “Both of us?”  
  
Felix turned to see Chan grin. “Welcome to Stray Kids!” He said.  
  
Seungmin scoffed disbelievingly. “I assume you guys want to come in?”  
  
Chan shook his head. “How about we take you and Felix to meet the rest of the crew instead?  
  
Seungmin looked at Felix, who nodded at Chan.  
  
“Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter - its the longest one so far but I couldn't find a good place to split it in half.
> 
> The whole gang is finally together!! Now we can start with actually plot and development and tension and all of that stuff.
> 
> Thank you for reading, giving kudos, commenting, and bookmarking - you motivate me to keep on writing!!


	5. Scrambled Eggs, Heist Movies, and a Plan

Seungmin woke to the sound of his phone alarm going off, inches from his ear. He reached over blearily and grabbed his glasses, then reached for his phone.  
  
**‘6:00AM**,’ it read.  
  
He groaned, rolling over on his mattress. The thin futon gave way beneath his knees and he felt the floor beneath him. Kneeling, he stretched his arms over his head, turning this way and that as he stretched out his stiff muscles. He thought to himself that once he received his first paycheck, he’d finally buy a bedframe to put his mattress on.  
  
Seungmin quickly went through the motions of getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and washing his face, before exiting his bedroom.  
  
Their apartment was a shithole.  
  
His ‘bedroom’ was actually a repurposed closet – a thin futon, backpack of clothes, lamp, and phone charger were his only personal effects in the room. Felix had the actual bedroom – though his décor also left much to be desired. A small bathroom that perpetually smelled like sewage and rotten eggs connected their two rooms, which left the rest of the apartment to serve as a living space.  
  
Felix was already awake, sitting on one of the plastic chairs at the dining table, laptop open in front of him. He mumbled a greeting at Seungmin as he walked into the room, his eyes never leaving the screen.  
  
“Another job?” Seungmin asked, clearing his throat when his voice cracked.  
  
He could feel Felix’s eyes on him as he turned his back on the other and opened the fridge.  
  
“I already told you, I’m not taking jobs anymore. We’re in a crew now, and Chan doesn’t want us working outside jobs without his say so.”  
  
Seungmin hummed cynically as he grabbed two eggs with one hand from the fridge.  
  
“I don’t want to argue Seungmin.” Felix replied. “You agreed when I- “  
  
“You’re right.” Seungmin said shortly, unable to help himself. He cracked the first egg into the frying pan. “I agreed to join, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”  
  
After a moment with no reply, Seungmin glanced over at Felix, who looking back at his laptop – though now with a slight crease between his eyebrows.  
  
Seungmin exhaled through his nose and turned back to his eggs, stirring them around with a pair of chopsticks. A few small black specks from the frying pan joined the scramble, the charred remains of whatever was cooked in it last.  
  
They’d been doing this a lot lately. The arguing. Ever since Felix had set his sights on joining up with one of the gangs in Seoul.  
  
Seungmin spent most of his days on edge. The near-three months they’d been in town were the longest they’d ever stayed in one place. Felix was determined to convince Seungmin that they would be in Seoul indefinitely, that the crew would be a long-term investment, but Seungmin knew better.  
  
“Your shit’s burning.” Felix called from the table.  
  
Seungmin looked down and jolted at the sight of his eggs smoking. He evacuated the contents of the frying pan into a chipped blue bowl and made his way over to the dining table.  
  
He ate for a minute, a heavy silence hanging over them. Eventually Seungmin relented and spoke up.  
  
“So what are you doing then? If not a job?”  
  
Felix looked up, then back at the screen. “Chris has me helping him out on an upcoming heist.” He turned the laptop so that they could both see the screen. Seungmin scooted his chair closer, adjusting his glasses.  
  
Security camera footage was paused on-screen, a collection of people frozen in time standing around a white room. Various paintings hung on the walls; red felt barriers guarding the artwork.  
  
“An art museum?” Seungmin questioned. This seemed a bit out of nowhere, considering the assassinations and supply collections Stray Kids had been focused on the past few weeks. Suddenly a museum robbery?  
  
“Yeah, not sure what he’s planning yet.” Felix replied, turning the screen back towards himself. “I’ve just been monitoring schedules; shift changes, deliveries, that sort of thing.”  
  
Felix looked up at Seungmin, eyes betraying the giddiness he was trying to hide, “I can’t believe Chris is already letting me help out! It’s been so long since I’ve worked with other people!”  
  
Seungmin made a protesting noise, to which Felix acquiesced with a nod.  
  
“Besides you, I mean. And can you believe he’s Australian? I can’t remember the last time I heard that accent! It just, really reminds me of home you know?”  
  
Seungmin did not, in fact, know. But he nodded along as Felix continued to ramble about how amazing their new boss was. He hated the strange feeling of envy that burned his chest. He clenched his fists under the table, let his toes curl into the carpeted floor.  
  
Seungmin tried not to think about why that feeling spread through his stomach. Felix was many things, but he wasn't cruel – not the way Seungmin could be. However, it was rare for him to get close to people. In fact, Seungmin could say with confidence that he was the only friend Felix had.  
  
He looked away from Felix, down at his half-eaten breakfast. He felt the urge to smash the bowl into the wall and watch the eggs splatter. Rage, a much more familiar feeling, joined the envy in his chest, and he quickly stood up.  
  
“I’m going to clean my guns.” He interrupted Felix.  
  
Felix paused, looking up at him searchingly. Seungmin didn’t meet his eyes.  
  
“Okay.” Felix said, voice quieter than before. “Do what you need to do.”  
  
Seungmin nodded and grabbed the large rectangular case that was propped up near the doorway. He carried it towards his room, pausing in his tracks when Felix called out.  
  
“We’re leaving in an hour! Be ready to go!”  
  
He scoffed to himself and entered his room. It took all of his willpower not to slam the door behind himself.  
  
He exhaled, placing the case down beside his futon. He reached for his backpack and unzipped it, tugging at the zipper when it got caught, and pulled his laptop out from it.  
  
He placed the laptop on his mattress, quickly pulling up the profiles he’d made on all the Stray Kids members. He’d added more after his first time meeting with them the week previous.  
  
He pressed play on the news video clip he’d found recently, turning the volume up as he opened the case and began to clean the different parts of his gun.  
  
_“The statistics have shown a dramatic increase in violent crimes lately in the city of Seoul. Many have begun to speculate that this influx in crime is in fact due to the death of notorious crime lord ‘JYP’. Joining us this morning to talk about these troubling statistics is Deputy Police Chief Oh Junhyo, thank you for joining us deputy chief, “_  
  
_“Thank you for having me.”_  
  
_“Now, the public outcry for a more present police force has been astonishing these past few weeks. What can you say on the topic of this dramatic crime increase in Seoul, deputy chief?”_  
  
_“Well I think that criminals these days are learning from the Americans overseas. Never before has our city seen such extreme and violent behavior. However, we want to put an end to the rumor that the death of the crime lord ‘JYP’ has anything to do with what’s been happening in this city. Our police force did a tremendous job in taking down that criminal, and they’ll have no trouble in taking down these ones as well! Have faith in your protectors, citizens of Seoul, we vowed to keep these streets safe for you and we intend to uphold these vows. “_  
  
_“Wow, thank you for those inspiring words deputy chief! Truly, it looks like we have nothing to fear. Now, moving on to our next developing story- “_  
  
The recording cut off. Seungmin finished polishing the barrel and placed it back in the velvet box.  
  
‘How little they know,’ He mused to himself, ‘about the true horrors that take place in this country.’  
  
The next video on the file began to play.  
  
_“This just in – the cult following of criminals that worked under the now-deceased crime lord ‘JYP’ have begun to from their own factions. Seoul is quickly becoming a criminal’s playground. A protest today outside of the downtown police precinct lasted for a total of six hours. Let’s take a closer look as to what the people are saying – here today we have protest organizer Choi Sooyoung who would like to say a few words.”_  
  
_“Thank you. People of Seoul, I’m the mother of three beautiful children. My husband works in the downtown district, a part of town that was once completely safe and that is now overrun with crime. We shouldn’t have to sit at home and worry that our husbands will never make it home from work, we should feel safe in our own city! Even in our neighborhood, vandalism and gang activity has grown exponentially! Something has to change, while the police sit around doing absolutely nothing, you can join us and protest. Protest for your right to a safe city!”_  
  
_“Well said Mrs. Choi. Thank you for speaking out on the matter. You heard her folks, if you feel your voice isn’t being heard – join the protests taking place outside of the downtown police precinct. The address of the protest’s information page will be below on the screen for all those interested.”_  
  
Again, the video cut off. A third video – this one from the interior camera of a police cruiser.  
  
_“Unit 77 we’ve got an call in your area. Report?”_  
  
_“This is Unit 77 reporting.”_  
  
_“Unit 77 we’re receiving multiple calls describing gang activity down on Teheran-ro. Several cars have been reported violating traffic safety laws. We believe these cars contain criminals that have been connected to a recent call in the area about the loading of several firearms into the trunk of a black Nissan GT and a blue Jaguar.”_  
  
_“Copy that. Requesting backup.”_  
  
_“All units in the area have been alerted and are on their way._”  
  
_“Copy that. Unit 77 out.”_  
  
The video cut out as the police car turned its sirens on and tore down the highway – inevitably finding only Stray Kids’ skid marks on the road.  
  
The fourth video was the shortest one yet, and was another news clip.  
  
_“The police have announced at their latest press conference that they will be revealing the names of the new crime bosses in Seoul in order for all its civilians to keep an eye out. They have revealed the identity of the leader of up-and-coming gang GOT7 to be ‘Im Jaebum.’ As well as the identity of the leader of up-and-coming gang known as SKZ to be ‘Bang Chan.’”_  
  
_“Yes, Woorim-ssi. Unfortunately, that is all of the information that the police have announced so far – and public response is not quite as positive as I’m sure the police was hoping it would be. People seem unhappy with the lack of any photos of these dangerous criminals – and the fact that only two have been named thus far.”_  
  
_“These are dangerous times Minri-ssi, just remember to keep yourselves safe, and call the police if you see any suspicious activity-”_  
  
The video cut the reporters off, leaving a ringing silence in the room.  
  
An hour later, after many videos and a much cleaner gun, Felix entered Seungmin’s bedroom.  
  
“Time to go.” He said quietly, “Pack your stuff up.”  
  
Seungmin nodded and closed the box, pausing the security camera clip on his laptop and folding it shut. He saw Felix’s eyes narrow at the brief glance he got at Seungmin’s screen.  
  
“Were you watching those videos again? The ones about our crew?” He asked.  
  
Seungmin rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand your sudden attachment to them,” He admitted. “They aren’t anything special.” Seungmin stood up, rolling his stiff shoulder a few times. “And they aren’t ‘our crew’ either, we barely know them.”  
  
“They are.” Felix protested, not moving from the doorframe when Seungmin moved to go through it. “You just need to get to know them, both of us do!”  
  
“And what happened when they ‘get to know’ everything you’ve done hm?” Seungmin challenged. “You think they’ll buy your nice guy act when they find out just how high your kill count is?”  
  
Seungmin regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth, especially when he saw the hurt in Felix’s eyes, but he continued anyways. “Monsters like you and I don’t get ‘friends,’ Felix. They don’t get ‘crews.’ They don’t get second chances at ‘family.’ I’m indulging you now because I know how much you want this to work out but sooner or later they’re going to learn the truth about you and I and then they’ll kick us to the curb.”  
  
Felix said nothing, his eyes pointed towards the ground. Seungmin frowned slightly and took a step closer to the other, raising a hand to grip his shoulder comfortingly.  
  
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt, ‘Lix.” Seungmin murmured, squeezing his shoulder slightly.  
  
Seungmin heard the sigh escape Felix’s mouth. “I know,” the other replied. “I know you’re just looking out for me ‘Min.” Felix looked up at Seungmin. “But I’m going to prove it to you.”  
  
Seungmin’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Prove what?”  
  
Felix smiled - a bit sadly, Seungmin thought. “I’m going to prove to you that you are not the monster you think you are. “

-

“Man, a real heist! This is like that movie you know – the one with all the actors?”  
  
“Wow Jeongin, very specific.” The tall guy, Hyunjin, replied sarcastically.  
  
The young hacker narrowed his eyes, “You suck. You know what movie I’m talking about!”  
  
“I really don’t though!”  
  
“Oceans Eleven!” The youngest cried. Looking around at the blank stares he received in response, he rolled his eyes. “George Clooney? Brad Pitt? You’ve really never seen it?”  
  
“I don’t even know who those people are…” One of the new recruits, Felix, wondered aloud.  
  
“What?” I.N shrieked.  
  
“I like Bonnie and Clyde.” Changbin, the tattooed one, mused. “That’s a classic after all.”  
  
“That doesn’t even count as a heist movie!” I.N argued.  
  
“What are you talking about? They’re bank robbers!” Changbin protested.  
  
“You’re all wrong,” Minho interrupted. Smirking to himself as the room went quiet immediately. He didn’t even need to raise his voice. “The best heist movie of all time,” he continued, is “The Killing.”  
  
The room went quiet, Minho smiled smugly.  
  
“What the hell movie is that?” Han piped up.  
  
“Yeah dude, no offense but when the hell did that movie even come out?” I.N added.  
  
Minho felt himself frown. “1956.” He replied.  
  
“Jesus dude!” Han laughed along with I.N, Changbin, and Hyunjin, “You’re old!”  
  
Minho rolled his eyes, expression hidden behind his facemask. It wasn’t his fault that they had no taste.  
  
“I am not old.” He tried protesting calmly, but his argument fell on deaf ears as the others continued to argue about heist movies. Minho rolled his eyes but fell silent, studying the room once more.  
  
Besides the five seated who were still discussing movies, there were three others in the room who had fallen silent like Minho had. Chan, who was the one who’d called the meeting and appeared to be setting up an overhead projector. Changbin, whose trust levels astonished Minho seeing as he was asleep in his chair in a room full of felons, And Seungmin, the other new recruit who was sitting across from Minho, studying the mercenary.  
  
“Your social skills could use work.” Seungmin said when he noticed Minho’s eyes on him. “You’ll never make friends that way.”  
  
Minho’s brow twitched. It almost felt as though he was being made fun of. “I’m not here to make friends.” He replied casually, “I’m just here to work.”  
  
“As far as I’ve ever heard the ‘Mad Mercenary’ works alone.” Seungmin said, challenging. “Yet here you are, on a leash like the rest of us.”  
  
Minho vaguely noticed that the conversation in the room had quieted down, and that the others’ eyes were now discreetly on the two of them.  
  
“I have worked with others before. As I am now.” Minho said, “Unfortunately for them it never ended up well.” He tugged down his mask, letting a cruel smile split his face. “Oh, the ways I could hurt you…” He trailed off, letting the threat linger.  
  
“Knock it off!” Hyunjin interrupted from Seungmin’s side. Minho noticed the younger’s confusion at the interruption. “We’re all on a team, no one’s hurting each other.”  
  
Han scoffed loudly from down the table, drawing Hyunjin’s glare.  
  
“What, do you have something to say?” Hyunjin challenged.  
  
“What about you, Hyunjin?” Changbin interrupted Han’s retort, in a valiant attempt to change the subject. “How many teams like this have you been on?”  
  
Hyunjin’s face shuttered down, peaking Minho’s curiosity. He suddenly looked almost nervous.  
  
“Quite a few,” he said, vaguely.  
  
“Details?” Minho pressed, but Hyunjin shook his head.  
  
“Hm.” He hummed knowingly, recalling the hospital records of Hyunjin’s he’d seen. “Things are starting to make some sense now.”  
  
Hyunjin looked up at him, eyes wild. “Stop,” He breathed.  
  
“What?” Han said from down the table. “What makes sense?”  
  
Minho brushed him off, “Nothing to do with you, darling. Don’t worry about it.”  
  
“Ok! I’m all set!” Chan announced happily, a clear contrast to the tense energy of the room. “Er…” He looked around, seemingly confused at the sudden tension.  
  
“Just start your thing Chan.” Changbin said tiredly.  
  
“Uh, right.” Chan said. “Ok then!”  
  
He walked around the circular table, waking Changbin up with a slap to the back of the head as he went, until he reached the front of the room.  
  
He spread his arms, “Welcome,” he said. “To mission: ‘Vitality’.”  
  
He pressed a button on the remote in his hand and the presentation started. Two paintings appeared side by side on the screen, both chaotic compilations of various colours and figures.  
  
“These,” He began, “Are the two paintings that create the artwork known as ‘Vitality.’ The painter, Famous artist Kim Chong Hak, is hosting a premier show at the National Museum of Korea right here in Seoul.”  
  
“After all,” He winked at Changbin, “We need something colourful to spice up the penthouse walls wouldn’t you say.”  
  
Minho watched Changbin’s hand meet his forehead, “This is so not what I meant when I said that…” he trailed off.  
  
Chan’s smile was disarming as he continued his presentation. “Now, this show will be of his entire collection, and the only invitees are chaebols, celebrities, art critics, and politicians. None of which,” He looked around the room, “are us.”  
  
Minho noticed I.N sink down into his chair at those words, he lifted an eyebrow, could little I.N be hiding something?  
  
Chan clicked the remote again, switching the slide to a layout of the museum.  
  
“The second floor contains the donation gallery, the painting gallery, and the calligraphy gallery.” Each gallery name was accompanied by a click of the remote and a picture on the screen. “The Chong Hak collection will take up three rooms of the painting gallery – Room C being the one with the ‘Vitality’ paintings.”  
  
“Our way in?” Hyunjin asked, his eyebrow raised.  
  
Chan nodded, clicking the remote a couple of times to scroll past a few more pictures of the interior of the galleries.  
  
“Thanks to I.N, we can take more liberties in ensuring a clean way in.”  
  
Minho looked over in time to see I.N’s face flush at the compliment. Chan continued unawares.  
  
“This means that he can make us some really good fake identities and invitations. Those of us whose faces aren’t yet known to the police will be posing as party guests.”  
  
“Infiltration?” Changbin said, incredulous. “Since when has that been our style?”  
  
“I’ve got to agree with Binnie here,” Han said. Minho was surprised that the younger spoke up, seeing how serious he’d become since Chan had begun to talk about the heist. “Our style tends to be a bit more… explosive.”  
  
“Your style, you mean.” Changbin retorted.  
  
“Moving on.” Chan said, eyes warning the both of them. Minho was pleased to see the pair shut up immediately, it was reassuring to see that Chan did in fact hold some sway over the team he created.  
  
“The undercover team will consist of Felix, Hyunjin, and Lee Know. You guys are the only ones the police don’t have any photo identification for – I.N has double checked.”  
  
Minho winked at Hyunjin, who flushed angrily at the callback to their previous conversation from the day they captured Felix.  
  
“You guys will be disguised as partygoers – you guys can consult I.N if you have any requests concerning your false identities but at the end of the day, he and I will have the final say.”  
  
Nods from around the room followed Chan’s statement. Minho was unphased by the prospect of yet another fake identity, but looking over to a clearly nervous Hyunjin and a straight-faced Felix he wondered how those two would fair during the heist.  
  
“Changbin will be posted at backdoor, the only other way out besides the front door and the roof.” Chan continued. He flipped between two slides detailing exactly where these exits were. “It’s on the  
Northwest side of the building, first floor. You’re in charge of keeping the peace – no one enters, and no one leaves.”  
  
Changbin nodded at his orders.  
  
“The roof exit off of the third floor will be guarded by Han.” Chan continued, flipping to a slide that depicted both a bird’s-eye-view of the roof, and a blueprint of the third floor. “If things go south, Han will be acting as backup for the infiltration team. He’s our plan ‘B.’”  
  
Chan looked around the room seriously. “We do _not_ want to have to resort to plan B.”  
  
“I love plan B!” Han cheered from his seat. He made an explosion motions with his hands.  
  
Chan sighed, and turned back to the screen. “Undercover team will have to split up – there will be a reception at 8:00pm that will precede the auction. The paintings must be out of the building before the auction begins. The viewing begins at 7:15pm, so that leaves you with 45 minutes to get the paintings out of there.”  
  
“How?” Hyunjin questioned, “Won’t there be people everywhere?”  
  
“Well, one of you will have to cause a distraction. Nothing major like a fire alarm that would cause the building to be evacuated, but something that will draw everyone to one location. The other two will take one painting each and bring them to the exit – Changbin will have planted a vehicle nearby that the two paintings and their holders will escape in.”  
  
“And the third person? The distraction?” Felix questioned quietly.  
  
“Hopefully they can get to the exit and meet up with the getaway vehicle. If not, they’ll meet up with Han on the roof and that duo will use the fire escape ‘round the side of the building to get down. You’ll have to use your coms to figure out which exit is the safest.”  
  
Chan turned to make sure everyone understood. When he was met with nods, he turned back to the slideshow.  
  
“Moving on. Seungmin will be posted up in a building across the street – it’s up to you how you’re going to get up there. But if you could secure a firing point between the third and fifth floor of this building- “He flipped to a slide that depicted a tall building. The bottom two floors were taken up by a fast-food restaurant. “That would be great.”  
  
Chan turned to Seungmin, “I think the upper floors are residential. Do your best to find a firing point. If you can’t that’s okay too. You’re backup, like Han. Hopefully we won’t need you at all.”  
  
Seungmin nodded shortly, face blank.  
  
Chan clicked the remote once more, switching slides again to reveal a black screen. “That’s it for the slide show. I’ll be hanging back with I.N.” He faced the table, looking at each and every one of them. “This is an evaluation. I won’t be accompanying you because I will be observing you. Trust is earned, and none of you have mine yet. Don’t screw up, and you’ll have a place in Stray Kids.”  
  
Hyunjin exhaled noisily from beside Minho. “Damn. Okay then.”  
  
“Sounds good boss!” Han chirped.  
  
“Man, this is going to be good.” Changbin said. “Even if I’m stuck on the outside.”  
  
Minho noticed Felix and Seungmin whispering to each other from across the table but couldn’t pick up any of what they were saying. Further down, I.N was patting Hyunjin on the back, the latter of whom was white as a sheet. Clearly his first heist, Minho thought to himself.  
  
Minho looked back at Chan, who was watching them all, an emotion Minho couldn’t identify spread across his face. Chan looked back at Minho and smiled.  
  
“Excited?” He asked.  
  
Minho scoffed. “Whatever. As long as I get paid.”  
  
Chan’s smile dimmed slightly – not enough for anyone but Minho to notice. “Yeah, of course dude.”  
  
Minho nodded and stood up, he was the first to do so.  
  
“When?” He asked, pulling up the facemask he realized he’d left around his chin.  
  
“Thursday.” Chan replied. “You all have one week to prepare yourselves. And then, we heist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might be my favourite so far, even though it is the shortest one I've written (not by much!!) I love introducing character dynamics, and arguments are always fun for me to write!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's been reading - you all inspire me to keep writing!! Leaving comments are the best way to get me off my butt and writing for sure!
> 
> Thank you again, and the next chapter will be posted hopefully today or tomorrow!


	6. Gunshots, New Enemies, and a Museum Heist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! 
> 
> It's been ages since I updated this fic - and for that I apologize. I was dealing with some personal health issues, and then COVID started which didn't help... long story short things have been rough. 
> 
> However! I'm happy to share the end of Part 1 with you guys! I don't want to promise that the rest of this fic will come out in a timely manner, since it seems that I'm somewhat of a failure at keeping promises. However I will do my best! I have the entire thing plotted and separated into chapters, and I have future scenes written. I just need to get it all done! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, I sincerely hope you can all enjoy!

Hyunjin’s back ached. The leather interior of the car Lee Know had chosen to drive them to the museum in was hot and sticky with the summer heat.It reminded him of his childhood, the backs of his bare thighs sticking to the car seat on the way to a beach with his family. A distant memory.  
  
He squinted as they drove by a window that reflected the setting sun into his eyes. Felix, from the passenger seat, put on a pair of sunglasses.  
  
“The sun will set soon enough.” Changbin said from the seat next to him, no doubt noticing his squinted glare. “Longer days in the summer and all that.”  
  
No one replied to him. Hyunjin was too nervous to speak around the lump in his throat. There was too much riding on this job. And he couldn’t help but remember what happened last time-  
  
“You will learn your place, boy. Your failure will cost you.”  
  
He exhaled through his nose. Closing his eyes and forcing the memory to the back of his mind. His back continued to ache; familiar lines itched where they pressed against the seat. Pain that had less to do with the car itself and more to do with what had happened last time he was on a job.  
  
“15-minute ETA.” Felix called back; a GPS app open on his phone.  
  
Hyunjin pursed his lips and looked down at his lap. None of the three of them who were going undercover could bring any weapons, I.N had warned them that there would be both metal detectors and body checks at the entrance. Trying to smuggle weapons in was an unnecessary risk.  
  
Luckily, with such a big team they had enough backup that they didn’t need to worry. That was, of course, presuming that they trusted their backup.  
  
These days, Hyunjin didn’t trust much of anyone. He’d learned better.  
  
He noticed Changbin rifle through his bag and extract a squat bottle of golden liquid: whiskey. He winked at Hyunjin when he saw him watching, then quickly downed several mouthfuls. He made a face when he pulled off the bottle, but simply wiped his lips with the back of his hand and offered the bottle to Hyunjin.  
  
“Want some? It helps with the nerves. I know this is your first- “  
  
Hyunjin felt a flash of hot anger deep in his stomach. “First my ass.” He roughly grabbed the bottle and took a gulp, cringing at the bitter taste.  
  
“Jeez, alright.” Changbin said, taking the bottle back from Hyunjin. “Excuse me for trying.”  
  
Hyunjin sighed, the anger turning quickly to shame. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t- “  
  
“If you guys are about done with this shit,” Lee Know interrupted from the front. “We’re here.”  
  
Hyunjin felt himself clam up at the sound of the mercenary’s voice. He hated this feeling of uncertainty every time he spoke with him.  
  
“Yeah, yeah.” Changbin drawled, hoping out of his side of the car. Hyunjin and Felix both quickly followed suit.  
  
The shortest of the four made his way around the car to the driver’s seat, where Lee Know had yet to get out. Hyunjin watched him roll his eyes before opening the door for the mercenary.  
  
Lee Know smirked up at him. “What a gentleman.” He leisurely got out of the car, watching as Changbin swung himself into the driver’s seat  
  
“You might have to adjust the seat. What with your height and all.”  
  
Changbin ignored Lee Know’s taunt as he adjusted the seat and shut the door. He held his middle finger up in the window as he drove away, leaving the trio alone in the parking lot of a fast food joint.  
  
Lee Know finally tore his eyes away from the road as the car turned a corner several blocks away. Hyunjin averted his eyes as the mercenary turned towards him.  
  
“It’s as if you two have never worn formal attire before, honestly.” Lee Know said with a dramatic sigh. He walked right up to Hyunjin and grabbed his tie.  
  
It took Hyunjin a moment to realize he wasn’t being attacked, and by the time he let his muscles untense the mercenary had finished adjusting his tie and moved over to Felix.  
  
“What, do they not have ties where you’re from?”  
  
Felix muttered an answer that was unintelligible from where Hyunjin stood. But obediently let the mercenary fix his suit as well.  
  
It was hard to remember sometimes that the slight, Australian man before him likely had a kill count higher than himself and Lee Know combined. He hadn’t thought as much the first time he had met him but, as Chan had told them, Felix’s ‘work experience’ more than qualified him for the job.  
  
Lee Know finished with Felix a took a step back, looking between the two of them and smirking. “Don’t the three of us paint a handsome picture.”  
  
If it had been anyone else, Hyunjin probably would have made more attempts at maintaining a conversation. As it was, however, Hyunjin was too wary and Felix was too shy for Lee Know’s comments to go anywhere.  
  
The mercenary didn’t seem to mind though. He turned around and began to walk. Hyunjin and Felix following him.  
  
As they walked, Felix rummaged through his front pocket, withdrawing three small flesh-colored devices that Hyunjin knew to be microphones and earpieces.  
  
I.N had explained, back at the penthouse, that actual earbuds would attract attention, especially for Felix, whose hair had been styled back for the evening. Instead, the earpieces were more gel-like, and stuck to the upper inside part of the ear. A thin piece snaked around the inside of their ear and lay right along the entrance to the ear canal.  
  
Felix passed around the microphones as well, those were taped to the underside of their jaws. As long as they didn’t look straight up in the middle of a conversation, those would also remain undetected.  
  
Hyunjin gulped, feeling the unfamiliar weight of the mic against his Adam’s apple.  
  
His throat ached with the weight of the boot pressing down upon it.  
  
“You think you are strong enough to survive on your own? Deserter’s will be punished.”  
  
He couldn’t breathe.  
  
“Breathe, Hyunjin.” A voice in his ear spoke.  
  
Hyunjin inhaled sharply, clenching his fists and digging his fingernails into his palms. He exhaled slowly, opening his eyes. He hadn’t realized that he’d closed them.  
  
“You’ll be fine!” Jeongin continued from in his ear. “Seriously – this will be a piece of cake!”  
  
A quick glance at Lee Know and Felix told Hyunjin that he was the only one who could hear the youngest through the headset.  
  
“Thanks, Innie.” Hyunjin replied quietly. “It’s just… been a while.”  
  
The trio finished crossing the street from the parking lot. They walked at different paces, as suggested by Chan, to separate themselves. Their false identities were supposed to be strangers after all. Lee Know rounded the corner first.  
  
“Look I don’t know what happened to you to put you in the state that the hospital found you in but- “  
  
"Not- Not now, Innie.” Hyunjin interrupted.  
  
There was a pause from the other side of the line. “I think it would help you to talk to someone about it.”  
  
Hyunjin couldn’t help but smile slightly. “You’re probably right. You’re too nice for this line of work, you know?” Jeongin didn’t respond so Hyunjin continued. “And maybe I’ll be ready one day. But not yet. The only reason you even know anything at all is because you hacked into my hospital records. Not to mention how Lee Know managed to see them too.”  
  
“You know I have no idea how-!” Jeongin quickly chimed in.  
  
“I know.” Hyunjin acquiesced. “It’s just all happened too fast. We’ve only just met really, and we get along great you and I. But I just can’t talk about it.”  
  
“Ok.” Jeongin replied. “When you’re ready.”  
  
Hyunjin rounded the corner, the last of the three to do so.  
  
The museum was impressive, the last rays of the setting sun illuminated the building in orange light. A small crowd of people was gathered at the entrance. A line cut through the center of it, bordered by two red velvet dividers.  
  
“Get your invitation out!” Jeongin reminded him over the earpiece.  
  
“Ah! Right.” Hyunjin muttered, fumbling to get his phone out of his pocket.  
  
They were new, all three of them. Brand new smartphones with no traces of any of their identities on them. Jeongin had equipped them to just have the fake invitations on them. That way in the event that things went disastrously wrong – nothing could be traced back to any of them,  
  
“You’re a damn genius, you know that right Innie?” Hyunjin muttered, quiet enough that the crowd he was drawing nearer to wouldn’t hear him but Jeongin would over the headset.  
  
The loud silence told Hyunjin that the youngest was probably flustered. He smiled, the eighteen-year-old was just too sweet for his own good. Too sweet to be involved in all of this, he thought, his smile quickly turning to a frown.  
  
Hyunjin finally approached the crowd, a security guard nodded when he flashed his invitation. The guard gestured for him to join the line. A few people ahead, he could see Felix and even further ahead he could see Lee Know.  
  
He gulped, trying to discreetly wipe his sweaty palms on his suit pants.  
  
The line moved forward slowly, and flashes of cameras soon became apparent against the darkness of the now-night sky.  
  
Hyunjin frowned, directing his gaze towards his feet. Trying to hide his face as best he could.  
  
“Next!” He heard the guard at the front of the line call.  
  
He looked up and watched Lee Know step forward. He held his breath – this was the moment of truth.  
  
“C’mon…” Jeongin whispered over the earpieces.  
  
The guard nodded at the fake driver’s license the mercenary showed from his wallet. He then scanned the ticket on Lee Know’s phone. He paused for a moment, reading the scanner. Then-  
  
“Next!”  
  
“Yes!” Jeongin cheered over the headset as Lee Know walked past the guard and through the metal detectors – which remained blissfully green.  
  
Felix’s turn at the front of the line went similarly and soon it was Hyunjin’s turn.  
  
“Id.” The guard asked flatly. Hyunjin withdrew his wallet – flipping it open and letting the guard examine his photo.  
  
“Ticket.” The guard said after a moment. Hyunjin pocketed the wallet and withdrew his phone. Turning on the screen so the guard could scan the ticket.  
  
After what felt like far too long, the scanner beeped and the guard said, “Next!”  
  
Hyunjin suppressed a grin and walked through the metal detector.  
  
Red lights flashed. The alarm began to blare.  
  
“Spread your arms and legs sir!” The guard near the detector said.  
  
Hyunjin did as she asked, letting her feel up and down his arms, legs, and body.  
  
“I think it’s these.” Hyunjin said after a moment. Wiggling the backs of his ring-adorned fingers at her. “They’re Cartier.”  
  
The woman rolled her eyes and stood up. “Move along, sir.”  
  
As he walked past her, he heard a mumbled, “Goddamn rich people.” That made him grin.  
  
He quickly made his way up the marble steps leading to the second floor of the museum. A large ‘U’ shaped balcony overlooked the first floor, which was full of round tables and chairs. A low stage had been installed on one side of the room – presumably where the auction would occur, Hyunjin checked his watch, 41 minutes and 37 seconds from now.  
  
On the second floor, signs to the three different galleries; the donation gallery, the painting gallery, and the calligraphy gallery, were posted at the front of each of the hallways. From what Chan said, the Chong Hak collection would be in the painting gallery – and ‘Vitality’ would be in room C.  
  
Hyunjin watched both Felix and Lee Know enter the hallway leading to the painting gallery, so Hyunjin made his way across the balcony. He reclined, in what he hoped looked like a graceful position, against the balcony railing.  
  
A waitress walked by holding a platter of champagne glasses. At her insistence, Hyunjin let himself take one. He took a sip, letting the light taste linger atop his tongue.  
  
He supposed he’d been left to cause the distraction.  
  
He had some time. 39 minutes and 22 seconds, to be exact. So, he people-watched for a bit. Then, to avoid suspicion, he began to socialize. Luckily, he was a great talker, not to mention that he and Jeongin had spent the past six nights practicing formal etiquette in their shared room. The younger had surprisingly been quite knowledgeable, Hyunjin recalled.  
  
However, with 16 minutes and 14 seconds to spare, Hyunjin was beginning to grow nervous. He hadn’t come up with an adequate distraction yet.  
  
He’d spotted both Lee Know and Felix around the building, no doubt scoping out the exits and the paintings. If he could just get the guests down to the first floor, they’d have easy access to the stairwells.  
  
Then, he saw it. Out of the corner of his eye. A glint of metal.  
  
Someone had a gun.  
  
Hyunjin smiled, letting his tongue press against the inside of his cheek.  
  
Now that would make quite a distraction. 

-

Hyunjin was taking too long. His first priority should have been the distraction – not drinking champagne and socializing with the sons of politicians. The longer they spent undercover at the party the more opportunity there was for them to be found out. Had he not planned his distraction beforehand? Jeongin couldn’t imagine being that reckless. He had been planning and preparing for every possible outcome since the day Chan had come up to him and told him about the heist.  
  
He had backstories and evidence to corroborate those backstories. He had EMPs and failsafes, he had bandages and suture kits planted in every vehicle in the garage. Someone like Hyunjin was simply unthinkable to a pessimist like Jeongin.  
  
They weren’t similar at all, the two of them. Yet Hyunjin was the only one in the crew who had given him the time of day. Han talked to him some – but the demolitionist freaked Jeongin out a bit.  
  
Changbin had full sleeves of tattoos and biceps the size of Jeongin’s calf, so he was also a no-go. Felix and Seungmin hadn’t been around the penthouse much the past week, so he hadn’t seen much of them. Chan would be friendly if he wasn’t so distant – always locked away in his office, planning their next move. And Lee Know was, well, Lee Know.  
  
Hyunjin was the only one who Jeongin had told about his hatred for killing. He’d never seen a dead body before, and before joining Stray Kids he’d never had the chance to. He hoped tonight wouldn’t be the first time, but his hopes weren’t high. He’d gotten himself into this – he had to see it through to the end.  
  
His hands were shaking and his leg was bouncing. He ran his tongue over his braces, fiddling with the wires that held them together.  
  
He hated how familiar it all looked. The chaebols and celebrities. The politicians-  
  
“We’re not alone here.” Hyunjin’s voice crackled suddenly through Jeongin’s headset.  
  
He rolled his chair to the desk. Switching the display on his leftmost monitor to the feed from the security camera closest to Hyunjin.  
  
Chan came barging in the room, startling Jeongin. He came to a halt behind the hacker and leaned closer to the screen without a word.  
  
Screen-Hyunjin was walking slowly towards the bathroom on the second floor, It took Jeongin a moment to spot the man following him at a distance.  
  
“There.” Jeongin said off-mic to Chan. “He’s got a stalker.”  
  
He pointed to the man, he wore a plain black suit and walked with a polished cane.  
  
“He’s got a gun.” Hyunjin continued, “He’s my distraction.”  
  
Chan remained silent. Jeongin looked up to him briefly, then snapped his eyes back to the screen.  
  
He got that this was supposed to be a test, but what if Hyunjin got shot? Shouldn’t Chan be telling him to run?  
  
Lee Know and Felix, who had clearly heard Hyunjin’s warning but couldn’t respond out loud, had both made their way over to room C.  
  
“Excuse me sir,” Hyunjin began to speak to a security guard. “I- My eyes might be deceiving me but…” Hyunjin rubbed the back of his head in a nervous tic, he was quite the actor. “I swear I saw someone holding a gun.”  
  
“Where? Can you point out who?” The security guard demanded, withdrawing his walkie-talkie from his hip.  
  
“The one with the cane.” Hyunjin spoke lowly, “I don’t want to point, I don’t want him to catch on.”  
  
The security guard nodded solemnly. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.” He brought the walkie to his mouth and spoke into it. A few moments later he seemingly got a response because he nodded and turned back to Hyunjin. “We’re going to evacuate everyone to the first floor for now, please make your way down there quickly and calmly.”  
  
Jeongin watched Hyunjin nod and walk off in the direction of the stairs. As he did so, Jeongin watched all of the guards on the other cams begin to guide guests out of the exhibits and towards the main staircase.  
  
Felix and Lee Know both managed to avoid the guards in their gallery, hiding in the shadows of the hallways and blending in with the migrating crowds.  
  
Jeongin watched the security guard approach the man with the cane. After brief conversation, the two began to walk towards the back wall of the second floor where two other security gathered had gathered.  
  
Guided by the security guard’s hand on his back, the man looked towards the camera that Jeongin and Chan were watching.  
  
“Was that a smile? Did he just smile at the camera?” Jeongin panicked, looking at Chan.  
  
Chan pursed his lips. “I’m going in.”  
  
“W-What?” Jeongin couldn’t help but stutter. “Why? What’s- “  
  
“I need to get an idea of how many guns are in there with them.” Chan muttered, leaving as abruptly as he entered. The door slammed shut behind him.  
  
Jeongin gulped and turned back to the screen. It was up to him now.  
  
“Be careful everyone. We don’t know how many guns are in there.” Jeongin reported to everyone over the headset.  
  
“Should I head in?” Han’s voice crackled over the headset. “It’s freezing up here.”  
  
“Don’t do anything unnecessary.” Seungmin’s voice replied. “You’ll cause trouble for them if you go in now.”  
  
“I’m fine, Seungmin.” Felix chimed in. “I’ve got one of the paintings, the hallway to the west stairwell looks clear. I’m headed there now.”  
  
“Copy that, I’m on standby at the rear exit.” Changbin’s voice was added to the mix.  
  
“Hyunjin, any word on the gunman?” That was Chan speaking.  
  
There was silence from Hyunjin. Jeongin chimed in so that no one would worry unnecessarily, “He’s been evacuated to the first floor with the rest of the party-goers. He can’t speak aloud without drawing attention to himself, I have eyes on him. “  
  
“Then what do you see I.N?”  
  
Jeongin worried his lower lip between his teeth, Chan was clearly agitated. He switched to the camera on the second floor. His eyes widened.  
  
“Incoming-!”  
  
Gunfire deafened his headset, Jeongin heard shouting from over the mics.  
  
“I need backup!” Lee Know called calmly. Jeongin frantically pulled up the security camera footage in the painting gallery. Lee Know was running through the gallery, the second ‘Vitality’ painting under his arm. He was closely pursued by two formally dressed men, both brandishing what looked to be Sig Sauers. Jeongin’s heart stopped as he spotted a third gunman rushing down an adjacent hallway to cut the mercenary off.  
  
“Lee Know, on your right!” He called.  
  
But the mercenary showed no signs of hearing him. He broke into a sprint, crossing the second floor into the calligraphy gallery – the gallery closest to the East stairwell.  
  
Jeongin frantically brought up those cameras. “There’s another gunman in that gallery, Room D!”  
  
Again, Lee Know ignored him, rounding a corner into Room C of the calligraphy gallery. One of the men behind him fired off two shots that embedded themselves in the artwork behind him.  
  
“Damn it Lee Know, listen to him!” Chan shouted over the coms.  
  
The first floor was in chaos, partygoers had begun to flee the building. Security guards ran up the marble steps to the second floor. Looking at the security camera nearest the rear exit, Jeongin was relieved to see that Felix had arrived safely. He and Changbin were busy wrapping the first painting so that it wouldn’t be recognized.  
  
More gunfire drew Jeongin’s gaze back to Lee Know. It took a moment to find which camera he was in – Room F. He was taking cover behind a display; the second painting lay flat at his feet next to him. The three gunmen from the painting gallery were covering the entrance way.  
  
There were two other exits for Lee Know to leave the room through, Jeongin watched the mercenary look back and forth between them.  
  
The hallway leading towards Room A was empty – it was the only way Lee Know could avoid the fourth gunman lying in wait.  
  
“The hallway to your left! Lee Know!” Jeongin called. Watching with bated breath as the fourth gunman crept down the other hallway. “Quickly!”  
  
The mercenary scoffed. Jeongin’s jaw dropped as he went the opposite direction, down the hallway with the fourth gunman.  
  
BANG.  
  
“Lee Know’s been hit!” Jeongin cried. “He needs backup!”  
  
“Shut the hell up.” The mercenary growled, finally speaking.  
  
“I’m heading down.” Han said.  
  
“I’m with Changbin and Felix!” Hyunjin called. “Should we go help…?”  
  
“No.” Lee Know said. “I’ll be there in 30 seconds.”  
  
“Damn it.” Hyunjin swore. “Fine.”  
  
Jeongin watched in stunned silence, as the mercenary continued his sprint. The painting was somehow secure under his arm. The mercenary reached the stairwell, shoving the door open with the shoulder that wasn’t spurting blood, and began to rush down the stairs.  
  
Thankfully, he wasn’t followed. The mercenary’s pursuers were caught and quickly overwhelmed by the dozens of security guards. Lee Know safely made it to the first floor, dropping the painting on the floor near Hyunjin and clutching his wounded shoulder as soon as he arrived.  
  
“Fuck!” The mercenary swore. Jeongin watched his white shirt sleeve go quickly red, blood staining the expensive fabric. This was all his fault; he should have been clearer with his instructions. He dug his fingers into his thighs.  
  
They were joined moments later by a breathless Han. Though he was against killing and violence in general, Jeongin couldn’t help but feel relived at the sight of the machine guns strapped to his and Changbin’s backs.  
  
“Heading out now.” Changbin said.  
  
“I.N.” Seungmin said.  
  
Jeongin jolted, not expecting to hear Seungmin’s voice, nor his name.  
  
“I’m here.” He responded.  
  
“You got eyes outside?”  
  
Jeongin switched the singular camera in the back alleyway. His blood ran cold.  
  
“’You seeing this too?” Seungmin said flatly. How was he so unaffected?  
  
“Don’t go out- “He tried to warn them. But it was too late. Changbin swung open the door and was met with gunfire.  
  
“Get down!” Changbin roared, dragging a stunned Hyunjin down by the back of his tuxedo. Han and Lee Know immediately dove behind a dumpster, taking cover. Han began laying down fire.  
  
“What the hell happened to lookout duty?” He shouted. Jeongin could see his shoulder shaking from the recoil through the camera.  
  
“I was guarding inside – not outside!” Changbin replied, laying down his own spray of suppressing fire.  
  
It wasn’t enough though. Two cars had pulled up at either end of the alleyway. Each car was filled with gunmen. A scattered few had also taken cover behind the cars, their bullets ricocheting off the dumpsters.  
  
“Who the hell are these guys…?” Jeongin whispered to himself.  
  
Jeongin watched helplessly as Changbin reached down to his ankle and tossed a pistol to Hyunjin. Changbin began to scoot back to give the sharpshooter more room but was halted by a sudden full body flinch from Felix, who was sat behind him.  
  
Jeongin winced as he remembered the state Felix had shown up to the penthouse in the first time they’d met. His first impression wasn’t that of an assassin - all Jeongin had seen was a bloody mess of a man who’d just been tortured for hours. A man who was too thin for his height, whose smile hadn’t been bright enough to hide the shaking, and whose stoic demeanor wasn’t enough to hide the instinct to flinch whenever Changbin, his torturer, was near.  
  
Jeongin’s heart stopped as he realized he hadn’t been paying attention. “Han! Behind- “  
  
The man who’d leapt atop the dumpster to deliver a killing blow to the demolitionist fell gracelessly, a trail of red coming from the barely visible hole in the center of his forehead.  
  
“Got him.” Seungmin said. Jeongin sighed in relief.  
  
“Oh shit!” Han watched the gunman fall. “Thanks man!”  
  
A second sniper shot felled another assailant, a third eliminated one of the drivers.  
  
Slowly but surely, thanks to Seungmin, the herd was thinning. However, Jeongin could see the ground began to flash red and blue at one end of the alleyway.  
  
“The police are here! You guys need to get out of there!”  
  
“I’m coming ‘round with a car now!” Chan called. “Be there in a minute, hold out until then!”  
  
“Aw shit!” Han crowed as he downed another two guys. “Does this mean we failed our test?”  
  
Jeongin watched anxiously for any sign of Chan on the cams. Eyes flickering between the different members, terrified that he’d look back and find them dead.  
  
Then he saw it, on the cams. Not Chan, but a gunman in all black creeping along the wall opposite them. He was hidden in the shadows; they couldn’t see him. Jeongin watched in horror as the man extracted a revolver from his hip and poined it at-  
  
“Changbin!” He shouted.  
  
BANG.  
  
BANG.  
  
BANG.  
  
Two shots from the revolver. One shot from a sniper rifle.  
  
“FELIX!” Jeongin had never heard Seungmin scream like that before.  
  
Arms outstretched, Jeongin watched a motionless Felix slump over onto Changbin’s back. 

-

“Ok. No, I already called Jaebum and Brian. I know, we’ve got work to do. This is between the four of us, no outsider should- “  
  
“Hey you!”  
  
“Fuck, I’ll have to call you back Jihyo.”  
  
Chan turned toward the poor soul trying to pick a fight with him. You picked the wrong guy.  
  
The guy tried to throw a punch. Chan dodged and gave him one in return. He felt his nose crack beneath his knuckles.  
  
Chan grabbed fistfuls of his hoodie, hauling him up off the pavement where he'd fallen so that they were face to face. He punched him again for good measure, then shook him roughly.  
  
“Who sent you?”  
  
The guy said nothing. Chan slammed his head into the sidewalk. Once, twice. Hauled him up again.  
  
“Who do you work for?”  
  
The guy spat out a wad of blood and teeth. Chan rolled his eyes and slammed him skull first into the pavement again. Chan rose, firing two quick shots into his chest when the man tried to get up once more.  
  
Was it sabotage? A personal vendetta against himself or one of the others? Could they have been hacked?  
  
Did they have a traitor in their midst?  
  
He’d have to get I.N to search their system for any signs of bugs. He ran across the streets, ignoring the red light and the cars screeching to a halt to avoid hitting him. Horns blaring.  
  
The museum was a figure of chaos. Men in suits and women in dresses flooded the streets, cars trying to leave were trapped by the traffic, the traffic was blocked by the swarm of police cars trying to get to the museum. Red and blue lights flashed, sirens blared, cops with flashlights surrounded the building.  
  
Chan tugged his hood over his head and ducked behind a bush. Narrowly avoiding a trio of masked assailants, each holding a Sig Sauer. Chan looked to the direction they were fleeing from.  
  
The back alleyway.  
  
He pursed his lips, then turned away from the alley to follow the trio.  
  
It was easy to slip through the disarray. No one paid attention to the three men ahead of him, nor himself. One of them pulled out a cellphone, the other two stood nearby in wait.  
  
Chan diverged from their path, inferring that the lone car illegally parked must be theirs.  
  
He holstered his gun and pulled out a knife. Ducking down quietly, he intended to make quick work of their tires.  
  
“Oi! Over there!”  
  
Shit, no time now.  
  
He ducked behind the car as gunshots barely missed the top of his head. He loaded his gun, waiting for the gunfire to cease, then stood and fired off three shots.  
  
A strangled grunt told him that one of his bullets had met its target. He squatted again.  
  
“Here you are!”  
  
Startled by his sudden appearance around the car, Chan instinctively slashed with his knife. The gunman cried out in rage, hands immediately going to his chest.  
  
Chan made to attack once more but was thwarted by a sudden pain in his back.  
  
“Han! Behind-!” I.N over the coms.  
  
He turned and slashed again at the second assailant, just barely missing. He blocked another knife attack with his forearm. The first guy lunged at him once more.  
  
Chan spun, quick as a whip, using his own momentum to land a powerful kick in the gunman’s ribcage. He went flying into the side of the car, head cracking against the window.  
  
“Got him.” That was Seungmin.  
  
As quickly as he’d turned, he did so again. Dodging a punch from gunman number two and returning with one of his own. Taking advantage of the assailant’s brief moment of pain, Chan moved forward and planted his knife into his exposed neck.  
  
“Oh Shit! Thanks Man!” Chan couldn’t pay attention to Jisung right now.  
  
A gargled shout is all he could say as he fell. Chan withdrew his knife and spun, slashing gunman number one once more. He fell, moaning and clutching his wounds.  
  
Chan stepped over the body; he’d bleed to death soon enough. He rolled his shoulders, wincing at the pain in his back. He shouldn’t have let number two get the drop on him; he was rusty.  
  
“The police are here! You guys need to get out of there!” I.N again.  
  
Now thankful that he hadn’t gotten the chance to slash the tires, Chan lifted the keys of the car off of one of the corpses and slid into the driver’s seat.  
  
As he adjusted the rearview mirror, Chan noticed the crowds of party-goers begin to make their way down towards where he was parked. He started the car, pulling out quickly and leaving the bodies behind.  
  
“I’m coming ‘round with a car now!” Chan called over the coms. “Be there in a minute, hold out until then!”  
  
He drove around the block, quickly arriving at the other entrance to the back alleyway. A gunshot-riddled car surrounded by bodies – thankfully none of which were familiar – blocked his way to the alleyway. He stopped the car and jumped out, re-loading his gun.  
  
He’d barely gotten five steps from the car when another car pulled up in between himself and the alleyway. A gleaming white beauty of a machine with tinted windows.  
  
“Changbin!”  
  
Chan heard gunshots come from the alleyway behind the Rolls Royce.  
  
“FELIX!”  
  
Chan’s heart stopped.  
  
He broke into a sprint, running around the car and vaulting over the wrecked one.  
  
He got there just in time to watch the rest of the men fall. Han and Lee Know shooting with precision as they guarded the body.  
  
Changbin, from whom Lee Know must have gotten the gun, was holding Felix in his arms. Hyunjin had his hands pressed into the thin boy’s stomach. There was blood everywhere.  
  
“Let’s go!” Chan commanded. Forcing himself not to look at the body. “Before the feds get here!”  
  
Hyunjin looked up at him as though betrayed. Chan looked away, making eye contact with Han. Han nodded, grabbing one of the paintings from where it lay at his and Lee Know’s feet. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Hyunjin hoist the body onto Changbin’s back.  
  
“What’s going on? Chan?” A frantic I.N cried over the coms. “Is he-?”  
  
“No. He’s not. He can't be.” Seungmin replied, voice dangerous.  
  
“Seungmin. Get a grip.” Chan snapped. “He- “  
  
“No, he’s right!” Changbin replied breathlessly. “He’s alive!”  
  
Chan blinked. Shocked. He was sure that… He’d looked dead. He thought that he’d failed before he even started.  
  
“Then get him to the car! Let’s go! He’s losing too much blood.” Chan said, ushering Changbin and Hyunjin past him. As Han and Lee Know followed, he noticed the mercenary nursing a bullet wound to the shoulder.  
  
Chan halted him, grabbing the mercenary by his injured shoulder.  
  
"Pull something like that again and I'll shoot you myself. When I.N gives you directions, you listen. You're not a lone fucking wolf anymore, you're are part of this team. Act like it.”  
  
Lee Know said nothing, ripping his arm out of Chan's grasp and slinging the machine gun over his shoulder as if it was his own.  
  
Chan scanned the area once more, confirming that there were no survivors, before turning and following the rest of the members back to the car.  
  
It was a tight fit, 6 men in one four-seater. Han had taken the initiative to crawl over the back seat into the (thankfully) spacious trunk with one of the paintings. Lee Know had taken the passenger seat, and Hyunjin and Changbin were in the midst of arranging Felix in the backseat with them.  
  
“It’s Christopher, right?”  
  
Chan spun around. Someone was exiting the white Rolls Royce. He’d almost forgotten about its sudden appearance.  
  
There was something wrong with the man though. His head wasn’t human. At first Chan thought the shadows were distorting his figure, but as he stepped forward into the light, Chan realized that the man bore the head of a warthog.  
  
A second person, this one fully human, exited from the backseat on the far side of the car. Chan tried to watch where she was going, but found he couldn’t take his eyes off of the abomination in front of him.  
  
“I look forward to breaking you,” The warthog sneered. Only when he talked did Chan realize that the warthog head was simply a mask. A creepily realistic one, but fake nonetheless. “And taking over this pitiful excuse for a city.”  
  
“It’s not yours to take.” Chan replied. He didn’t dare glance behind him but prayed that Changbin would close the goddamn door. Enough of them were injured already, they were vulnerable.  
  
“I have more claim to it that you might suspect, Christopher.” The warthog said.  
  
Movement alerted Chan to the return of the woman. His eyes widened, following the path of her fingertip as it trailed patterns in the blood spatters on the second ‘Vitality’ painting.  
  
“They missed one, sir.” She said, not averting her eyes from him. “Guess they left it for us.”  
  
Chan watched wordlessly as she entered the Rolls Royce with his prize. The door behind him still hadn’t closed. The warthog watched him, waiting.  
  
Chan grit his teeth. Then turned his back. Closing the back door on Changbin’s worried expression and sliding into the driver’s seat. When he looked out the window, the Rolls Royce was gone. Along with the Warthog and Vitality.  
  
He exhaled. Then cursed and slammed his fist into the steering wheel.  
  
“We’re not going after him?” Hyunjin asked from behind him. Chan started the car.  
  
“No.” He reversed, doing his best to avoid the sight of any police cruisers.  
  
The car ride was quiet. Changbin quietly muttering instructions to Hyunjin, guiding the gauze around Felix’s wounds. Lee Know silently digging the bullet out of his shoulder with a knife, swearing quietly under his breath, and taking intermittent swigs of the random bottle of scotch Han provided.  
  
‘What?” Han had replied when Chan gave him a look through the rearview mirror. “It was just chilling back here.”  
  
Chan said nothing. Driving through the illuminated night streets of Seoul. By morning’s light, everyone in the city, in the country, will have heard about what happened.  
  
By morning’s light, Chan needed to know if there was a traitor in their midst.  
  
Who was the warthog? How did he know the details of their heist? How had he known his name?  
  
Only one thing was for certain. The climb to the top was going to be far more interesting than Chan had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Part 1! 
> 
> I left my handwritten notes for this fic back in my hometown, so I won't be able to get my hands on them until Thanksgiving (Canadian, so two weeks from now). I'm hoping that once I have them I will be able to start writing properly again! For now, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Thank you all again for everything! :-)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! This is my first Stray Kids fanfiction, and I have much more planned for this story! 
> 
> Also as I'm not a super competent writer just yet, any feedback would be super appreciated!!
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed!! Happy Reading!! :-)


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